Failsafe
by The Shroud
Summary: Amanda Waller has decided what must be done. She will enact her failsafe, a dormant ARGUS reprogramming treatment she subjected Operative Queen to long ago, making it possible to force him to follow her every direction without choice, and combine the ruthlessness of her orders with the lethal skill of the Hood, removing threats to national security in the process. Incomplete.
1. Treatment

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.

**Failsafe**

**Chapter One**

**Treatment**

By The Shroud

**A/N:**

My third story. Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, etc. This is a story exploring an idea I had, if Amanda Waller used something similar to brainwashing and Vortura upon Oliver. It's also based on a one-shot in Harry Potter I once read, called "What Was Your Plan?" by 'SpoonandJohn', with the fanfiction ID (the long number inbetween [slash] s [slash] and [slash] 1 [slash]) being 11613187. Just change that in the link here to go there. Now that's explained... so it begins.

* * *

_2010_

_Somewhere_

Her new operative, Mr. Queen, had attempted to leave... again. This time, with the help of the Yamashiros. The father, Maseo Yamashiro, had thought it out well, when he had lied to Mr. Queen about what they would do, but had been foolish in coming back to 'save' Queen. No matter, it meant she could use an asset to assist her new and ever so resistant operative again, without diverting a resource.

They would probably continue to try and do so. But this time they won't. .Not anymore.

All that was left to fix this problem was to utilize the results of their reprogramming program. A combination of their reprogramming helmet, hypnosis techniques, and modified Vortura would leave lasting suggestions in both of their mind.

The lasting suggestion would activate a failsafe whenever she used the phrase, 'As the Mockingbird commands to all, you must listen, understand, and follow, so hear and obey,' making them susceptible to suggestion by her.

Oliver Queen was yet an imperfect agent. Further training and experience would be necessary, only truly attainable outside of work for ARGUS, but some low-level suggestion would be required, to make him be willing to torture brutally at a moment's notice. Extreme measures are necessary to eliminate those who deal in the same, doing otherwise is utterly naive.

Letting him loose soon after this operation would be the best option. The subconscious suggestion would still be in place for any specific urgent matters, and should already be motivating him to become what he needs to be..

As for Maseo, also after this operation, the League of Assassins was interfering more and more often with operations, she needed an agent to infiltrate them, and Maseo had the skills for them to be willing to let him join. He could offer the Alpha-Omega device to the League of Assassins, something they would be very interested in. They already had enough power to kill many, many more people, the virus would just make it cleaner, while decreasing how much time she would have to waste on clean-up.

As she thought about all this, she noticed in front of her that Queen was waking up, slightly dazed, and started sarcastically, "You're not dead, if that's what you're wondering..."

* * *

**A/N:**

And that concludes this chapter. It's short, but it summarizes everything that she's done so far. The rest shall follow as she (well, I) see(s) fit. The specifics are for you to see soon. The next chapters will be longer, but it's late at night/way too early in the morning for too much yet.


	2. Effect

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.

**Failsafe**

**Chapter Two:**

**Effect**

By The Shroud

**A/N: **

The second chapter. Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, etc. Here's the follow-up chapter, which explores the effects of the Failsafe up until before season 1. Not too much canon divergence, more a character exploration and exposition of what is happening, but it's a set-up for later - it picks up at Chapter Five. The story continues below.

* * *

_Outbreak plus 2 Days_

_Hong Kong_

Operative Queen woke up, gasping for air. He had been kidnapped from the streets, as well as his companion in the room. He looked around, before crawling to his right, and woke up former Agent Yamashiro. Yamashiro coughed for a bit, before sitting up straight, breathing in the air for a bit before asking, "Where are we?"

Queen was about to testify his lack of knowledge on the matter of their location before she walked in and both of them immediately pivoted their heads towards her before glaring. Queen growled, attempting to stand up but stumbling, "Director Waller. Why are we here?!"

She smirked, amused at his discombobulated state, before ignoring his question and stating unceremoniously, "As the Mockingbird commands to you all, you must listen, understand, and follow, so hear and obey," wincing mentally at the length of the statement, though it worked, causing them to instantly stand, straighten up and look ahead dully. It was unique enough for neither to hear it in public, and she could assign an agent to state it if her actual presence was not possible, but would be inconvenient in a case where instant compliance was necessary.

To rectify this, she commanded, "The failsafe shall now also be activated, when you see me looking directly into your left eye and hear my voice command, 'Hear and obey me, Director Waller.'"

They stated in dull monotones, "Understood."

The death of Akio was unfortunate, as he would not longer be an option to use as a threat to control former Agent Yamashiro's wife, Tatsu, but would serve as an additional apparent reason for them to follow her plan, beyond the many deaths of strangers. She spoke up, "Operative Queen, you will begin to embrace the killer inside of you, the torturer inside of you, and be willing to do what must be done, all without your usual, intolerable inhibitions."

Turning to former Agent Yamashiro, she ordered, "Former Agent Yamashiro, you will begin to be more distant, until when most opportune, when tensions are highest, it will seem like you have snapped, and shall be willing to kill at a moment's notice. You will wander, before subconsciously trying to find Nanda Parbat and the League of Assassins. Once you reach there, you will decide to offer Ra's al Ghul the Alpha-Omega virus, in return for the chance to serve him." Each replied their acceptance.

She finalized, "Now, both of you will fall unconscious. Once you wake up, you will each remember accidentally getting knocked unconscious, in a reasonable manner that is not suspicious to yourself. After that, you resume what you were working on before. Failsafe command sequence complete." Both began to reply, but fell unconscious first, complying with her orders.

She walked out of the sound-proof room, ordering her agents to return them to where they were.

* * *

_Late 2010_

_Coast City_

A man was running over a rooftop. He was pursuing said man, while dressed in a hood, with a quiver at his back and holding a bow. The man reached the edge, before turning back. The man tried to order him with his hand outstretched, treating him almost like a dog, "Back off, psycho."

Angered, he responded heatedly, "Six people have died, from what you've been pushing. Four of them were kids!"

Desperately, the despicable man pulled out a gun and started shooting at him. He tried to shoot back with an arrow, but accidentally dropped his bow as he ran for cover. He hid behind an air vent, until the man ran out of ammo. He came out running, but got punched, dazing him, as the man pushed him off the roof onto some wires.

He barely avoided being electrocuted, getting tangled up in the wires, but the man was running away. Grimacing, he realized his vision was a bit blurry, after being upside down, blinking. Someone was walking towards him, and as they came into clear focus, he recognized who she was - Director Amanda Waller.

She was smirking as always, coming close, taunting, "You've certainly chosen an unusual hobby, Mr. Queen."

* * *

_Later that night..._

Mr. Queen was asking her, "How'd you find me?"

Were she anyone else, she'd roll her eyes at his defensiveness. Her capabilities extended far beyond tracking one person that was nowhere near careful enough. As she was the Director of A.R.G.U.S., she simply replied, "World's too small for someone like Mr. Queen to disappear. Truth to be told, I expected you to be found in Star City."

He explained, "I don't want to be near my family."

She could easily guess why. He had taken her command to heart apparently, judging from Shrieve's body, and surprisingly enthusiastically, so quickly that he would have likely done so anyway. But being willing to torture someone who hurt someone you cared about was not enough for later, so the command was still needed. Mr. Yamashiro must have also taken it to heart. Bullets didn't tend to be Mr. Queen's style of execution. "Because of what you did to Shrieve? I read his autopsy report. I knew you had a capacity for the unfathomable, but I actually underestimated you."

She could sense his irritation with her last statement as he spoke, "What do you want, Amanda?" He needed time, of course.

She spoke somewhat sincerely, "To help you."

Reasonably enough, he chuckled, grinning, as though he didn't believe her. A further push was necessary, "You haven't returned home because you feel you're a monster. You're trying to deny it, channeling your killer instinct into something productive. But you can't change who you are in your bones."

He retorted, "I don't need a therapist."

She insisted, "The hood and eye makeup suggest otherwise." Pausing to force him to think, she continued, "Stop trying to run from your inner darkness. Embrace it. Let it run it's course. Oftentimes, the only way out is through."

He turned to her, "Through what?" His vision began to blur, as he saw various people around him stand up and face him, realizing they were A.R.G.U.S. agents. He distantly realized that she drugged him, as she smiled, starting to stumble around. She spoke, "When you wake up, remember that I'm trying to help." He fell unconscious, and she signaled for them to move in.

They would carry him to the plane, where he would have to begin his mission on Lian Yu.

* * *

_Early 2011_

_Lian Yu_

As he placed the last few rocks, he sat back, looking at the grave he made for Taiana, feeling guilt.

Suddenly, he was interrupted from his brooding when he heard _her_ voice talking, "And here I thought you'd never use the comm gear I gave you to radio for a trip home."

He stood up, explaining, "I lost it for a while, the job wasn't done..."

She continued for him, "And now it is. I sent you here to break up Reiter's operation and free his prisoners. You did both. You saved a lot of lives."

He replied, strangely not feeling too guilty, "I took some too."

She noticed, and for some reason _smiled_. "Do you remember what I told you? That the only way out was through?"

He replied, "Well I am not out, Amanda. I'm still filled with darkness."

He could sense her amusement, still inexplicable, as she shook her head in disappointment, rather than also being amusement, "This was never about expunging your darkness, Mr. Queen. That darkness will always be part of you."

Shaking his head, he asked, searchingly, "Then what was the point?"

She clarified, "To show you that sometimes killing is the only path to justice."

Nearby, A.R.G.U.S. agents were packing up the magic thing, that Reiter had used to kill so many people, that forced him to kill Taiana. One asked Amanda, "Director Waller, what do you want to do with the artifact?" _Artifact._ Such a lifeless, simple term for such a dark, dangerous thing.

Unimpeded, Amanda walked forward briskly, "Have it transported to the slab." The agent replied, "Yes ma'am," as she carried on.

He spoke to Amanda again, "That's it. Just going to bag and tag everything and pretend like nothing ever happened?"

Amanda understood, and reasoned, "You've seen what that idol can do. How large the world truly is. Speaking of," she moved on as two A.R.G.U.S. agents brought a box in front of him and left.

He looked at it, asking, "What am I going to do with this?"

She spoke, not quite telling the whole story, "Our business here is concluded, Mr. Queen. Unless it's not," vaguely offering, pausing, before continuing so as to explain once he opened the box to see his bow, arrows, and other equipment, "As I said, justice sometimes requires killing. A man of your talents could be used in hot spots across the globe. Or you could just go back to playing vigilante."

He paused, in a dilemma between his promise and wanting to do something more, so much more, before deciding, "I would like that, but I would want to take a break to fulfill a promise I made."

She paused, as though annoyed. 'Did she not want me to accept? Why?' She started speaking rapidly while looking into his left eye, confusing him, "Hear and obey me, Director Waller."

He suddenly straightened, looking blankly ahead, not of his own volition, thinking independently, 'What's going on? What did she do!?'

She closed his box for him, and then she spoke in a commanding voice, "You will remember refusing, deciding only to keep this... promise. You will seek out training, and you will find a way to succeed in it. Good luck, Oliver." She leaned in a bit, before moving back, and finishing, "Failsafe command sequence complete." He felt his memories slowly being buried, realizing he was under the effects of something similar to Vortura, attempting to keep his memory, slowly losing his grasp upon all of...

And he remembered nothing other than refusing her offer, feeling perturbed somehow.

* * *

**A/N:**

And that concludes the second chapter! It had a lot more opportunities to explore what was going on. I felt the ending was fun, yet sad, yet not, yet something else. I hope this lived up to at least some expectations.


	3. Mission

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.

**Failsafe**

**Chapter Three:**

**Mission**

By The Shroud

**A/N:**

The third chapter. Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, etc. Here's the next chapter, which explores the effects of the Failsafe and Amanda's perspective, as well as a mention of what Maseo is up to, during the extent of season 1. A lot of canon divergence in terms of actions, though the plot is still similar. The story continues below.

* * *

_Early October 2012_

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

She, Director Waller of A.R.G.U.S., waited patiently for 20 seconds between the time she saw Operative Queen on the private cameras she had and the time he finally walked through the door, through the hallway, and into her office. She was standing up, with her ever-present smirk, and greeted him coolly, "Operative Queen. Is there something you want?"

He was irritated, of course, "Former operative."

She retaliated, standing her ground, "Former or not, you are still an operative, one way or another. What do you want?"

He paused, conceded, and asked simply, "Supplies."

She nodded, "Much as when we last saw each other, you intend to fulfill a promise - now the one to your father. Anything specific? I heard you were kidnapped - was it traumatic?" She had an ulterior motive - to find out if he figured out anything.

She had a dormant command that could only broken through weeks of stringent torture, ensuring he mentally couldn't reveal secrets that were even distantly related to his A.R.G.U.S. activities, instead believing various secrets never happened to temporarily only remember what was the public story, to later be remembered as an act - and for the most secret of his activities that were most related to A.R.G.U.S., not until his brain had already turned partway to mush, and then some. Unfortunately, his vigilante activities were a secret distantly related to A.R.G.U.S., and so they might have been covered by the command. Without this, he would have likely chosen to kill them, pinning it on his alter ego. As a result, he may feel suspicious of being influenced, which could eventually lead to _difficulties_.

Oliver turned his head to the side for a moment, then back, breathing in while avoiding a sigh, before explaining, while shaking his head slightly as he usually did while recalling something he believed to be insignificant, "It went well. They tried asking me about my father and stuff related to the Gambit, and I lied to them, told them nothing. They persisted, mom had called the police, causing us to eventually be found by the police and released, while they got away." Good. She sensed both mild confusion and reasoning in his eyes, yet they were disjoint. She could tell, through that, what he said, and what she knew already, he was trying to determine what the kidnappers' motive was and was slightly confused why he hadn't simply killed them.

He was continuing, "I need various equipment. High-grade computers, training equipment, equipment to forge some of my own arrows if need be, and various more personalized arrows - some for setting up zip lines, automatically forming a connection between different servers through an online path, slightly explosive, whether time delayed, accelerometer based, or remotely detonated, with smoke, and any ideas you have available. What's your price?"

She considered, "A favor for the future."

He grimaced, before accepting, "Deal."

* * *

_Storage Facility_

_Middle May, 2013_

A blast of cold water brought him back to wakefulness. One of Malcolm's men, who had just thrown a pail of water on his face, walked away, and Oliver assessed his situation. He was in some kind of storage facility; where he didn't know. His com link was gone, and he had been stripped from the waist up, and his arms were chained above his head, leaving his feet barely touching the ground. He heard more footsteps, and looked up as Malcolm walked in.

"I hope I didn't hurt you," he began honestly. "At least I can properly thank you now for saving my life. If I only knew how you were spending your nights..."

He chuckled as he circled Oliver, "My hope is that I can explain everything to you; to help you understand."

"You murdered my father!" Oliver spat, "You sentenced me to that island, to five years of hell."

Malcolm replied calmly, "I am truly sorry for what happened to you. I only meant for the boat to leave your father behind on Lian Yu. I didn't know you or Sara would be there. You know I have lost people."

"Yeah, your wife," Oliver said, attempting to reason, before asking bitterly, "Do you really think that you're honoring Tommy's mother by destroying the Glades?"

He replied, holding up the green hood. "As surely as you believe you're honoring your father with this hood, murdering every self-serving criminal that keeps themselves in front of the path to justice."

Malcolm paused, and continued, "Not a day goes by I don't miss your father."

Oliver promised darkly, "You'll see him soon."

Malcolm's face turned cold at this, unamused. He walked up close to Oliver. "You can't beat me, Oliver," he stated bluntly. "Yes, you're younger. You're faster. But you always seem to come up short against me. Want to know why?" he asked rhetorically. "Because you don't know, in your heart, what you're fighting for. What you're willing to sacrifice; and I do."

He stepped back. "No one can stop what's about to come. Not even the vigilante." He tossed the hood to the ground and walked out; the guards closing the heavy metal door behind him. Oliver remembered when he first started wearing the hood in Star City, and his first few targets. He would hit at least three a week. He remembered the second time he went after Adam Hunt.

* * *

Adam Hunt's Penthouse

Middle October

_Across the street, Drakon positioned his men, then locked the doors to the penthouses' office. On the street, Lance and Hilton supervised the police and S.W.A.T., barricading the building. "It's past 10:00." He told Hunt. "He's never getting in here." Hunt nodded in agreement; outside the window, unnoticed by him, and arrow with a cable struck the wall and anchored itself._

_Hunt and Drakon stood calmly in the office with several other men, when suddenly the lights went out. Then, in the hallway, the elevator dinged._

_As soon as the doors opened and two arrows shot out at one, killing half of the guards on the right with precise hits to the center of the heart. Another arrow dropped the second to last guard on the right, and then The Hood was running out from the cover in the elevator, taking down the two guards on the left closest to the elevator, using it like a eskrima stick, jabbing the blunt part over his gloved fist into each of their stomachs until they were unconscious or in too much pain to move soon enough. He had researched the guards Adam Hunt had chosen beforehand, and he would not take care to leave those who were self-serving alive, even if he didn't go out of his way to kill them. He didn't like to, but somehow it had become his method._

_He tossed the bow at the third on the left, slashing his throat open with a bladed tip at the bow's end even as he moved towards a fourth, jumping out of the way towards a pillar as the guard fired, then propelling himself off the same pillar and coming down hard on the guard, breaking his neck. He rolled, retrieved his bow and moved behind another pillar as the last guard from the right opened fire._

_Inside the office, Hunt paced nervously as he heard the sounds of gunfire- and then suddenly all was silent. For a moment nothing happened, and then suddenly a figure burst through the glass doors. A guard in the room opened fire, spraying the figure with bullets, only stopping, too late, when he realized it was one of the guards from outside he had just killed. The Hood then killed him with an arrow to the heart, and then unleashed his fury on the last guard, breaking his nose and crushing his throat with the bow. He pulled an arrow, aimed, and shot at Hunt; the arrow impacted the wall behind the desk._

_"You missed." Hunt sneered at the Emerald Archer, even as he notches another arrow and held it on the man._

_"Really?!" the Hood said, challenging. Suddenly Drakon was on him, flinging his bow away and attacking him with furious punches and kicks. Oliver held his own, absorbing the hits, as Hunt scurried out the room, rapidly he pulled out his phone and called own to Lance. "He's here!" he screamed into the phone. On the ground, Lance got on his walkie-talkie._

_"All units, converge! All units, converge!" He cried out to the men on the ground as they stormed the building. As they all ran up the stairs, The Hood and Drakon continued to fight. Oliver was more than a match for the senior guard, but Drakon was crafty. He pulled out his knife and lunged; Oliver parried and quickly disarmed him. They crashed to the ground, with Drakon falling just in range of one of his men's Uzi's. He grabbed the gun and Arrow ran for Hunt's desk. Drakon opened fire just as The Hood, in one fluid motion, leapt over the desk, pulled a flechette from his arm and threw it back at Drakon, striking and killing the man as it embedded itself in Drakon's heart. The Hood landed hard, slightly in pain from randomly getting hit by three of the Uzi bullets, one in the arm, and two in the test._

_A moment later, the sounds of the police out in the hall prompted the young man back to action. He gasped in pain, and then staggered to his feet, pulling two rounds out of his bulletproof vest that had been concealed under his green jacket, while planning to take out the one in his arm later._

_"Lay down your weapons, or we will open fire!" the cops screamed, coming to the door. "I repeat, lay down your weapons…"_

_Without hesitation, The Hood leaped to his feet and shot an arrow that disarmed both cops simultaneously. But Lance was right behind them and opened fire, tracing a line of bullets just behind The Hood - just as he leaped through a window._

_Lance and Hilton ran to the window, only to see the hooded man using his bow to cross the zip-line he had set up earlier, back to the Foundry. Hilton and Lance exchanged disbelieving glances._

_After the party, Oliver finished returning the stolen money and delivering compensation, using his computer knowledge and the online connection, that was ensured to be completely anonymous as A.R.G.U.S. tech, and then used the kill code to remove traces of the hacking arrow._

* * *

_Storage Facility_

Oliver looked around his prison. With a grunt, he lifted himself off of the floor, pulling his legs upwards to wrap around the chains, then started climbing up.

When he was about ten feet off of the floor, he stopped- and then let go. He dropped down, and when the chains finally snapped taught, all of the weight suddenly became too much for the pipe the chains were draped over to handle. The pipe broke, crashing to the ground along with the chains and Oliver. He grunted in pain, and then forced himself to get up.

A guard came down the stairs from a second floor office, his gun drawn. Oliver threw the chains at him, causing him to drop the gun and slide down the stairs. Oliver knelt down and broke his neck then moved to stand near the doorway that was sliding open. Another guard ran in and Oliver whipped the chains, ensnaring the man's arms and blocking the gun he was carrying. He then wrapped the chain around his throat and spun around, placing them back to back. With a hard tug, the man's neck broke and he fell, dead. Oliver knelt down to search the man for the keys to his chains, but looked up again in surprise as a third guard ran in, gun drawn. Just when he was about to roll to the side, the guard was shot from behind. He dropped to the ground revealing Diggle.

"I take back every joke I made about you sticking a tracking device in your boot." He said to make light of the situation.

A short time later, Diggle and Oliver hurried back into the Lair. "Felicity's at Queen Consolidated." Diggle told him. "She's still going through the data she pulled off Merlyn's network."

"Did she find anything?" he asked.

"Yeah, the design schematics of the earthquake generator so we can shut it down. Assuming we find it in time." He added grimly.

* * *

_Merlyn Global_

_Later that Day_

In Merlyn Global, Oliver was still looking around when he suddenly heard coughing. He looked towards the windows and saw Tommy lying there, groaning.

He started worriedly, "Tommy," throwing back his hood and kneeling down besides his friend. He helped him up, "Tommy. Tommy!"

His eyes cleared. He had a gash under his left eye, but was otherwise unhurt. He finally responded, recognizing his friend, "Oliver."

Oliver asked, "Where's your father?"

Tommy moved, but the room was still spinning. "Ohh." He blinked a few times, and everything settled down. He finally replied, "I don't know." Tommy looked up at his friend, and admitted, "You were right. You were right about him."

Diggle called, "Oliver." Oliver looked back at his partner, who had found a crack in the wall.

Tommy asked, "Are you going to kill him?"

Oliver stared at him for a few moments. He finally responded, diverting the argument, "Get to safety", rising and moving over to Diggle. Tommy got to his feet and made his way out.

"Looks like a false wall." Diggle said, his gun at the ready. Oliver nodded and slid the wall open. Inside they found Malcolm, standing ready in his Dark Archer gear, sans the hood.

"Welcome, gentlemen. I've been waiting for you," Malcolm said, "I wanted to see you watch your futile ideas die."

Oliver demanded, "Where's the transmitter?"

Malcolm smirked, replying, "Somewhere I can easily get to it."

"I doubt it." Dig said aggressively, "You'll be too dead."

Oliver drew and fired, but Malcolm was already moving, ducking to the side of the room. Dig followed him with a line of bullets, but he ducked behind a pillar. The two moved to follow, But Malcolm returned fire with his own bow. Oliver bent out of the path of an arrow just in time. Dig round the corner, but Malcolm deftly disarmed him, then kicked him away and threw the gun at Oliver, who ducked to avoid it. Oliver and Diggle both moved in, working in tandem, but Malcolm was highly skilled and managed to hold his own. He kicked Oliver into a work table, then spun and smashed his bow across Dig's face, sending him staggering back. Malcolm brought the bow down hard on Oliver, who raised his own to block it. Oliver punched him hard across the face, sending the older man staggering away. He moved behind a rack of swords, then pulled out a pair of throwing knives and launched them at Diggle. One hit him in the shoulder, the other in the upper thigh.

Dig collapsed to the ground and Oliver ran over to him, giving Merlyn a chance to escape out a back entrance.

Dig cried out, pulling at the knife in his shoulder. Oliver knelt down at his side, but Dig just gestured to where Merlyn had run, urging, "Stairs. Go, go."

Oliver ran up the stairs and threw open the access door to the roof, moving aside instinctively to avoid the arrow the now hooded Merlyn shot at him. He stepped out calmly onto the roof and faced his nemesis.

Malcolm said from under his hood, "So tell me, are you ready to die?"

Back on the roof of Merlyn Global, the two archers were sending arrow after arrow at each other. Both were running low, and then suddenly Malcolm was out. They ran towards each other, and as they came together Malcolm swung his bow at Oliver's head. Oliver dropped to his knees, sliding under the blow, then raised his bow up to block the follow up, not able to get a chance to slice at Malcolm's legs with his bow's bladed tip to limit Merlny's mobility. They began trading blows furiously, expertly wielding their bows like bo staffs. Oliver spun away and fired another arrow- which Malcolm caught inches from his face- which then exploded, sending him sprawling.

On the rooftop of Merlyn Global, Malcolm had traded his bow for a sword. They were fighting in close, with Oliver blocking the sword with his bow. Finally he kicked it away, then kicked Malcolm, sending him sprawling. He staggered to his feet just as Oliver jumped at him. Oliver wrapped his legs around Malcolm's head and did a hurricanrana, landing Malcolm back to the ground on his back as Oliver landed on top. Malcolm slid away and got up jumping at Oliver and spinning from an arm bar to a reverse choke. He reared back, cutting off Oliver's air. He reached back and ripped off Malcolm's hood, trying to find something to hit, but he couldn't. Diggle, who had managed to drag himself up the stairs, looked on in horror.

Malcolm started, "Don't struggle. It's over," as the two sank to their knees. Oliver was trying desperately to get air, but Malcolm was just too damn strong. Malcolm continued, beginning to ramp up to a snarl, "There was never any doubt in the outcome. Don't worry, you'll get to see the Glades finally fall!"

Oliver struggled with all of his might. In his mind, he saw his father, heard his last command.

'Survive.'

On the ground in front of him lay a black arrow. He reached out for it even as his vision blurred and darkened. His flailing fingers finally grasped the shaft. Without hesitation, he lifted the arrow and jammed it through his own chest and into Malcolm's. Malcolm screamed in pain and finally let go, and Oliver allowed himself to fall forward, letting the arrow go through him all the way. Malcolm fell back, gasping in pain.

Oliver snarled, "Thank you for teaching me what I'm fighting for," pulling himself to his feet. He looked down at his enemy. "But my father taught me how." Malcolm tried to rise, but Oliver punched him solidly in the jaw, knocking him down as Diggle watched in stunned silence. Oliver tore out the arrow, before stabbing it through multiple arteries and veins - three in the chest, twice in the right arm, once in the left leg and once again in the chest. Malcolm bled out profusely onto the rooftop.

On the rooftop, Oliver got a message from Felicity.

Oliver stared down at Malcolm, telling him, "It's over. Your device was disabled."

"If I've learned anything as a successful businessman," he said weakly, coughing, "it's…redundancy." Malcolm finally collapsed, losing a lot of blood, apparently unconscious from the blood loss.

* * *

_Early June_

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

Director Waller reviewed her files on Agent Yamashiro and Operative Queen. Maseo was doing well. Despite his infrequent updates, caused by needing to obtain a secure drop off each time, it provided actual data on the abilities of the League, data that had been lacking.

Oliver had stopped half of an artificial earthquake. Impressive, for his first year back. He appears to have fully accepted the idea she had implanted for him to accept when she first performed the surgery. His friend had died. That would either cement his resolve... or possibly go against it. If he resisted, the darkness within would simply build up until he broke. Further progress on each front remained to be seen.

* * *

**A/N:**

And that concludes the third chapter. This gave me more opportunities to showcase some action. I hope the ending was cryptic enough. I hope this lived up to at least some expectations as well.


	4. Backslide

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.

**Failsafe**

**Chapter Four:**

**Backslide**

By The Shroud

**A/N:**

The fourth chapter. Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, etc. Here's the next chapter, which explores the effects of the Undertaking, Moira's imprisonment, and Tommy's death, during the extent of season 2. Oh, and Malcolm's a complete psychopath. More canon divergence emotionally. The story continues below.

* * *

_Late May, 2013_

_Foundry_

His friend admitted, "I don't know how I want to do this anymore. Now that Tommy's dead, half of the Glades are leveled, and Mom's imprisoned... I can't stay here. I need time, to think, to reconsider, to change. I don't _want_ to kill, but I still feel a need to do whatever may be necessary to complete the mission. Do you know what I mean?"

He nodded sagely, "Yeah. The stress gets to you, man. Makes you go too far."

Oliver rejected, "I don't have PTSD, Diggle. Certainly not from this. The five years I was away, were far worse then just this."

Diggle elaborated, "This is different. Before, you didn't have to worry about other people as much, because they could take care of themselves. Now, they don't even know you're the one under the hood. The stress is worse, not because of the danger you're in, but the danger everyone else is in. It's normal. Even the most dutiful of soldiers need to take vacations every once in a while."

Oliver understood, "Thank you," going to shake his hand.

Diggle accepted, wordlessly taking the handshake.

* * *

_Late September_

_Lian Yu_

A click rang out through the air. He groans, and started inspecting the device underneath his feet, only to find what looked like a rusted trigger. He moved to grab the only means of communication he had, an A.R.G.U.S. issue phone. He called Amanda reluctantly, knowing she could get to him faster than Diggle, "Hi, uh, how soon can you come over here?"

He could sense her smirking _already_ over the phone, "Found yourself in a mess?"

He admitted, "Yeah, kinda. The landmine on Lian Yu type."

She asked, "Reconsidering the prospect of returning to Star City yet?"

Oliver answered, "I was considering doing so, in a few days. I suppose now could work."

He heard her hang up, before hearing a rustle in the bushes, whirling around while keeping his weight on the landmine and drawing out a spare sword he found in the wreckage he once lived in for months, expecting a wolf. What he saw was far more dangerous.

Amanda stepped out, pressing a button on a device. "Hello, Mr. Queen. You can step off the landmine I had placed now."

He stepped away, and smiled bitterly, sarcastically. "Of course."

She stopped smiling. "Your city needs you back. In the wake of the Undertaking, new threats have arisen. People that escaped, like Xavier Reed, Baron Mathis, Ricardo Diaz, and others. People taking advantage of your absence, like alderman Sebastian Blood, vice president of acquisitions Isabel Rochev, and the mysterious Arthur King. People trying to take your place, a gang calling themselves the Hoods and a woman using a sonic device. You can stay back, and let it burn, but that would cause pain for those you care about, wouldn't it? I don't need to pressure you through my own actions, this time."

Oliver waited, conflicted, before responding, "Fine."

* * *

_Early October_

_Church, Star City_

He watched from the top of the church. Not _one_ week, and he was already dealing with a personal situation. Thea was bound to a chair in the church, clearly trying her best to remain calm as the four hoods moved around in agitation.

One of them asked, "So… what do you want to do with her?"

Another suggested, "We could knock her out, drop her off somewhere."

The fourth hood, the farthest away from her, snarled, "Come on. Why don't you just buy her a new pair of Prada's while you're at it?"

'Please no. She has enough of those already.'

The first hood pointed out, "She's seen our faces."

The third man said. "Look, offing Oliver Queen's one thing, but his sister? She's not much older than my sister was when she was killed in the earthquake."

The first hood interjected, "Your sister wasn't killed, she was murdered. By her mother. What we're doing here is justice, which makes us the heroes."

Thea said angrily, "She didn't kill anybody." They all looked at her in surprise, but her focus was on the first hood. She repeated, "My mother didn't kill anyone. Malcolm Merlyn destroyed the Glades."

He shot back, "With mommy's help."

She pointed out, "Merlyn killed my father. She thought he'd kill my brother, too. She was afraid of him. She must have been so afraid." She said, finally realizing what her mother must have been going though.

The first hood wasn't impressed. "Just like my wife when our house collapsed on top of her," pulling his sidearm and cocking it. She stared in fear, then closed her eyes as he brought the gun up to her head -

But then the gun was gone, struck away by his arrow.

He roared, "Get away from her!"

The third opened fire, and the Hood ducked away, dropping to the floor behind a pillar. The hoods started spreading out, looking for the vigilante. The second hood rounded a corner - but the _H_ood was there. He grabbed the closest arm and twisted it back, bending the man over. Then four hits in quick succession with his bow to the temple put the man down for the night. He moved off, quickly disarming the fourth with an arrow even as the third opened fire.

The gun clicked empty, and, enraged, the former marine charged at the Hood, swinging his rifle like a club. The Hood ducked it, trapped his arm and flipped them over, sending them to the ground. A quick hit to the head put him out, and the Hood stood and spun, swinging his bow and catching the fourth, who had gotten back up, across the face, sending him down to the floor.

He looked around, and spotted the first man pushing Thea in front of him on the second level. The Hood ran to the stairs and made it up to the second level, coming out onto the balcony in front of the hood, who once again shielded himself behind Thea.

He demanded, "Let. Her. Go."

The man spat, "You want to save her? There was no justice for people like the Queens 'til you showed us how to get it. You _showed_ us."

The Hood scowled, and then fired. The arrow struck the man's shoulder and sent him spinning away from Thea, over the railing towards the ground two stories below. But then the Hood was there, grabbing his hand and arresting his fall.

He spoke, "You'll drop me anyway. I know you. You're a killer." The Hood snarled in contempt for the foolishness of thinking a person arresting your fall would drop you right after doing so. He then grabbed the man's hand with his other hand and yanked him up before putting him out for the night with a precise kick to the head, making the decision to stop killing.

* * *

_Early November_

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

It was an unfortunate development. Oliver was attempting to go against the command she implanted. As a result, it would build up pressure until he broke. Before then, he would feel frustrated, angry, reckless. Perhaps it would give him a much needed lesson nonetheless. If he didn't break within the year, she'd be very impressed.

* * *

_Middle November_

_Queen Consolidated_

The Count had figured out his identity, when he linked Oliver to Felicity, and Felicity to himself, the Arrow. His deranged mind had fixated upon the idea, and unfortunately, like a broken clock twice a day, he was right. As a result, he, now dressed in full Arrow regalia minus the grease paint and with his hood down, strode down the corridor on the executive level. Cautiously he made his way into his outer office, and then he saw them.

Through the glass wall he could see Felicity, bound to a chair and trembling with fear, as The Count sat behind her, casually running his hand through her ponytail.

The Count called out to the vigilante, "Pretty swanky offices."

As he stopped at the open doors to the conference room, the Count stood and casually put his hands on Felicity's shoulders. "You can see all the _beautiful_ destruction that your mom caused from up here."

The Arrow demanded, "What do you want?"

The Count rubbed Felicity's shoulders gently, causing her to whimper in fear, and spat, "World peace and personal satisfaction. Though not necessarily in that order. You poisoned me and put me in a hole. You have no idea how much I hated you for that. Turns out, someone else hates you, too."

He blinked in surprise, and demanded, "Who?"

The Count echoed mockingly, " Who? Oh, you're going to be surprised when you find out. He's a man of means. Set me up with my new operation so I could draw you out."

The Arrow asked, "To do what?"

"This." The Count drew his gun and started firing. Oliver ducked and rolled over a low sofa as the bullets shattered the glass around him.

He called out, "You're going to have to try harder."

"Done!" The Count fired his last two rounds, and then slammed the gun down on the conference table. He took out a knife and cut Felicity loose, then yanked her to her feet by her hair. He demanded, dragging her along with him, "Come on!"

She yelled out in pain as The Count pulled another gun from his waistband and dragged her around the couch - but the Arrow wasn't there. The Count looked down in momentary confusion, but then Oliver dropped down from the ceiling into the conference room and drew an arrow aimed at the drug pusher, with another arrow held in the palm of his hand.

The Count dropped his gun and moved himself behind Felicity, taking out his double syringe and placing it at her neck, saying, "So now we move on to plan B."

She pleaded for him not to kill the Count, "Oliver, don't! Not for me!"

The Count yanked back on her hair hard. "Quiet, please. I'm threatening." He looked to the Arrow, and ordered, "Lower your bow."

He considered his options. He had no guarantee the Count would let her go. He decided upon an option, finally.

Almost without conscious thought, Oliver drew and fired each of the two arrows he was holding in quick succession. Precisely targeted, the left one knocked the syringe out of the Count's hand, and the other followed a slightly curved trajectory as a result of its spin, hitting the Count in the shoulder, and causing him to stagger in pain. Felicity fell to the ground, and he ran over to the Count, taking out a flechette to stab the Count in the heart, who twitched convulsively as he died, before Oliver kicked him out the window. The Count's body crashed through the window and fell 36 stories onto a taxi cab's roof on the street below.

Oliver sighed heavily, and moved over to the broken window, looking down at the Count's body as a crowd started to gather. He felt like a burden was off his chest, yet also like he was being suffocated by the darkness of the room.

* * *

_Late November_

_Outside_

The driver he hired pulled into the abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of downtown. The drive climbed out, then opened the door for Moira.

She asked nervously. "Where are we? I-I don't know this place."

The driver stepped back and looked over her shoulder at him. "I've got her, sir." The driver said. He drew three arrows instantly and released them, watching joyfully as they pierced the man's throat within milliseconds of each other.

Moira cried out as the driver fell back against the car and slid to the ground, dead. Spinning around, she saw her worst nightmare come back to life; he, Malcolm Merlyn, strode confidently towards her, his compound bow in his hand, though he was bandaged slightly.

Malcolm said, in a voice more raspy than usual yet filled with more conviction, "Hello Moira," stopping a respectful distance from the frightened woman.

She exclaimed, "They said you were dead!"

He explained, "There are parts of the world where death is an illusion. I've been to one. I learned to be very convincing. So convincing, I was truly dead for 45.87 seconds. But I returned, because you needed my help."

Of course, there was more. He had contacts at the coroner's, and they faked his death while using the Lazarus water from the pit he found that he gave them to heal him. When the Lazarus water brought him back to life, it gave him a realization, that the people in the Glades were the same as those outside, because most people in the world are selfish people that would do the same as any in the Glades, if it benefited them. They _all_ deserved to die, too.

She asked, baffled, "Help?"

He elaborated, to her growing horror, "With your trial. You didn't think that jury acquitted you without a little persuasion?"

She breathed. "Dear God. What do you want, Malcolm?"

He revealed, "I still have resources in Star City. Associates. Including one in the D.A.'s office. I followed Mr. Donner's investigation of you with interest."

He moved closer, seething, "The ease with which you lied about us for years, it made me wonder whether you lied to me."

Moira backed up against the car, terrified. She stammered out, "No. No."

Malcolm continued, "It was a matter of a simple surreptitious genetics test to confirm my suspicion." He would sacrifice _anything_, even his mission to replace evil with death, for those he cared about to live. At the moment, that was only himself and his last remaining family member.

Moira protested weakly, "Don't."

He stated, grinning sarcastically, "Imagine my joy, at learning that Thea... is _my_ _daughter_."

* * *

_Middle May, 2014_

_Queen Consolidated_

They had captured Isabel. She looked at Oliver defiantly, and said, "Kill me. Don't kill me. It doesn't matter. I beat you. I took a-" she never got to finish as Nyssa, growing annoyed at her speech, broke her neck.

Oliver growled in frustration and drew an arrow on Nyssa, causing the rest of the assassins to draw on him. She told him coldly, "Your reticence to do what is necessary is why your city burns."

Oliver retorted, "Murdering someone during battle is not the same thing as needless execution. She could have information on where he went or what his next move was. She was goading us into killing her to prevent that, and you let yourself be manipulated."

She ignored him, considering each of those points irrelevant, calmly walking to the elevators.

* * *

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

In the command center, a drone pilot looked back over her shoulder at Director Waller. She reported, "Drone's locked on target. Star City."

* * *

_Soon Thereafter_

Diggle and Lyla made their way stealthy towards the building's side entrance. "Johnny." Lyla said suddenly as they reached the door. "Yeah?"

She paused, shook her head, and said, "Never mind."

Dig put a hand on her arm, and asked. "Hey, Lyla. I love you. You know that, right?"

She smiled softly at him. "I do, actually. But it's good to hear it."

She swiped her card in the door, unlocking it, and the two made their way into the building.

In the control room, Waller was watching as the drone approached Star City. "Time to impact?"

The pilot replied, "Drone is 52 minutes out from target."

Waller ordered, "Get me Sergeant Gomez at the Giordano Tunnel."

The tech tried to raise them, but was unsuccessful. She shook her head. "Uh… Easy Company's not responding, ma'am."

Waller came around her table to the tech's station. She said urgently, "I need a visual."

The tech replied, "They're in a tunnel, ma'am, I can't get a picture."

She growled, "What the hell is going on in that tunnel?"

* * *

_Tunnel_

Slade's men were standing over the body of the A.R.G.U.S. soldiers as the tech's voice carried on their radios. 'Sergeant Gomez, come in! Sergeant Gomez!'

* * *

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

Lyla and Diggle walked into the cell block that contained Task Force X and encountered the lone night guard. "Agent Michaels, this area's restricted to all unauthori-" he never got to finish as Diggle rushed him and grabbed him in a sleeper, putting him out in seconds. He yanked the keys off of his belt and ran to a familiar door, unlocking it before whistling at Lyla and throwing her the keys.

Floyd Lawton asked, as he exited his now-open cell, "What the hell is this? Early parole?"

Diggle told Lawton, "Waller's looking to bomb Star City. We need your help to stop her," as Lyla started letting other prisoners out.

Lawton reminded him, "As much as I'd love to show the Wall what we think of her, there's just that little matter of tick, tick, boom! Ok? We've got all that miniature bombs in our spines."

He said, handing him his wrist gun, while also warning him, "You have to trust me. And Lawton, no dropping bodies."

Lawton replied sourly, "Yeah, sure, take the fun out of it."

He scoffed, disgusted, "Fun."

Diggle headed to a door at the far end of the corridor, but Lawton stopped him.

He said, shaking his head, "Ah! Uh-uh. No. Not her. Trust me."

He glanced through the window to see a pale blonde woman staring at him expectantly. She pleaded, "Come on, chocolate puddin'. Let me out. I wanna play. I wanna play!"

Understanding why, Diggle ordered, "Let's move!"

The woman called out, as the new Suicide Squad moved to take on Waller, "Hey, let me out!"

* * *

_Later_

Waller stared at the video screen impassively as the drone approached the city. She ordered, "Prepare the drone to fire."

The tech looked back at her in surprise, and reminded her boss, "Weapons hot was set for oh-six hundred."

Waller snarled angrily, "Prepare the drone to fire!"

Suddenly gunshots could be heard down the hall. She ducked down behind the table, opening a hidden compartment and withdrawing two guns as a pair of agents rushed out into the hall and were immediately incapacitated.

Moments later, Deadshot, Diggle and Lyla burst into the room, their weapons trained on the people inside just as Waller popped back up, her guns aimed right back at them. Lawton ordered, "Down, now! Everybody get down, down, down!"

Diggle also ordered, "Waller, call that drone off!"

Waller ignored him and focused on her second in command, building distrust and tension, noting, "This is treason, Agent Michaels. Treason that risks hundreds of thousands of lives. Have you thought about that? Have you thought about how you're going to explain that to your son? Or is it your daughter? Did doctors specify, or did you want to keep it a _surprise_? Congratulations, Mr. Diggle, you're going to be a father." This stunned both Lyla and Diggle, for different reasons.

* * *

_Tunnel_

The Arrow jumped on top of a cab to survey the scene around him, and noted in satisfaction that Slade's army had been defeated. As the Assassins finished cleaning up, a call came through on his comms. He said, activating it, "Go!"

Slade said on the other end, "You've been busy, kid."

He told the crazed man. "It's over, Slade! Your army is broken."

Slade responded, "And I pity them. But once again, you miss the point. I have the one you love. You're going to meet me where I say. Otherwise, I'm going to kill her."

Oliver shot back, "No, you do what you have to. I'm done playing your games!"

His previous friend roared, "You're done when I say you're done! I was surprised. I thought you had a thing for stronger women, but now that I've met her I can see the appeal. She is quite lovely, your Felicity," he said, standing before the terrified woman as Oliver listened on, helpless even though he expected it.

* * *

_Soon thereafter_

As the drone flew ever closer to Star City, Oliver entered the old oil processing plant. He moved cautiously through the industrial space, looking around corners and through gaps on the pipes for his prey.

Slade's voice called out, "Twitch, and I will open your throat," echoing through the space and causing Oliver to draw an arrow. He growled as Oliver drew closer, "My first words to you. Do you remember? I do. I remember the exact moment. My blade against your neck. Just like my blade is against the neck of your beloved. If only I'd killed you then, everything would be different."

The Arrow drew back the arrow as he rounded a bend, and found Slade standing there with his sword at Felicity's neck, who ordered, "Drop the bow, kid. Do it."

Oliver paused, staring at Felicity. Then, slowly, he lowered his bow to the ground. As Felicity cried silently, the last soldier dragged Laurel, kicking and struggling, into the room and stood next to Slade.

Slade cooed, "Yes. Countless nights dreaming of taking from you all that you took from me."

Oliver asked, "By killing the woman I love?"

"Yes."

"Like you love Shado."

Slade replied quietly, "Yes."

Oliver realized, and asked harshly, "You see her. Don't you? Well, what does she look like in your madness, Slade?"

Slade moved the sword away from Felicity's neck and pushed her to her knees as he stared off to a point behind Oliver, where he must be staring at the woman he loved.

Oliver continued, spitting, "What does she say to you? I remember her being beautiful. Young. Kind. She would be horrified by what you've done in her name."

Slade now stared at Oliver, yelling as he placed the blade at the base of Felicity's neck, "What I have done? What I have done is what you lack the courage to do! To fight for her! So… when _her _body lies at your feet, her blood wet against your skin, then you will know how I feel!"

Oliver looked down at Felicity, then stared back up at Slade, telling him confidently, "I already know how you feel. I know what it's like to hate. To want revenge. And now I know how it feels to see my enemy so distracted, he doesn't see the real danger is right in front of him."

Enraged, Slade pulled Felicity back to her feet to deliver the killing blow. As he did, she reached into her coat pocket and withdrew the injector head from one of his arrows - an injector filled with the cure. She glanced behind herself, and then quickly stabbed the needle over her shoulder and into his neck.

She tried to run away from him, as he cried out in surprised pain and fell to one knee as the cure took effect, but he kept his hold on her neck through the pain, the pain just as bad when he first received the Mirakuru. He was still on his knees, missing her throat but slitting her jugular vein and carotid artery and she fell to the floor as she bled out to death within seconds. He quickly looked back to the soldier holding Laurel, and ordered, "Kill her!"

Oliver also cried out and fell to his knees, not in pain, but in loss at seeing someone else die as a result of his failures. Before the soldier could do anything, he was hit in the back with a cure dart, thanks to Sara. Laurel finished the job by wheeling on the weakened man and pummeling him.

Oliver recovered, feeling months of pent up rage flow through his brain, and ordered hotly, "Get her out of here!"

Sara led Laurel out as he grabbed his bow angrily.

Oliver attacked Slade, now finally on even footing. He used his bow to block Slade's sword, forcing him backward and kicking him through a glass door onto the roof's catwalk. Slade scrambled back to his feet as Oliver stepped out and attacked, swinging his sword. Oliver ducked and blocked, but now he was forced back. A kick to the gut sent him to one knee, and he lifted his bow to block the descending sword, pushing it away…

Slade yelled, "The Mirakuru isn't what made me hate you!"

He blocked a punch and grasped Oliver by the throat with one hand. He started choking Oliver, looking up as he saw the drone fly by overhead. He told a groaning Oliver crazily, starting to roar, "The end is near. But maybe I'll be merciful enough to let you live and see your city burn!"

Oliver broke free of Slade's grip and continued the assault, blocking his sword but taking a reverse crescent kick in the kidneys. He spun around, blocking another sword strike, and kicked him hard in the gut, sending him tumbling back.

Oliver and Slade both lay on the roof, exhausted and hurting, as Slade started with a groan, "We both know there's only one way that this can end. To beat me, kid, you're going to have to kill me."

Both men staggered back to their feet. He spoke with glee, "But in the moment of my death, you'll prove one thing that you didn't accept before, that you are a murderer."

Both men charged on another once more. Oliver kicked Slade off the roof, and then followed him down to the ground. Slade staggered to his feet, his sword at the ready as Oliver moved in. Exhausted, he took a wild swing with his bow, that Slade dodged. Slade, exhausted as well, hit Oliver with a wild haymaker, then another, staggering Oliver backwards. He then lunged at Oliver, his sword aimed at his heart, but Oliver blocked the sword, swinging away, and then drawing and firing a pair of bolo arrows, tying Slade to the cement column.

Oliver staggered, wounded and exhausted. Slade said tiredly, "You can kill me, or not. Either way, I win."

* * *

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

Confident despite the guns trained on her, and unwilling to wait for Queen any longer, Waller moved to order the missile strike when Oliver's voice came over the comms. "Amanda, it's over. Slade's down, his army's been taken out. Call back the drones. Amanda, it's over!"

Waller slowly disarmed herself, then hit the button to abort the strike.

* * *

_Star City_

The drone suddenly banked as it moved to return to base. He sighed in defeat, and asked, "So what now, kid?"

* * *

_Lian Yu_

It was several days later when Slade Wilson finally awoke with a gasp. The first thing he realized was that he was in prisoner clothing; the second was that he was in a cell. He gasped out, "Where am I?"

Slowly he pulled himself to a sitting position, and saw that, seated on the other side of the bars, was Oliver Queen.

Oliver replied, "As far away from the world as I could get you. Where you can't hurt anyone ever again."

Slade spoke, stiffly rising to his feet, starting to pace his new home, "That's your weakness, kid. You don't have the guts to kill me. Oh, you're a killer. I know, I created you. You've killed plenty."

Oliver agreed, talking sincerely, "Yes, I have. You helped turn me into a killer when I needed to be one. And I'm alive today because of you. I made it home because of you. And I got to see my family again. Thank you."

He paused, before continuing, mirroring a speech Amanda had obtained from NSA surveillance, "As for why I won't kill you, death would be a release from this life, and your sentence has yet to be carried out in _full_. You've already torn everything you care about away from yourself. You let those who chose to follow you be destroyed. You probably even corrupted those you loved before. I've already driven an arrow through your eye. Now, in here, you will learn that it was all your own fault."

Slade growled, realizing his source for the speech and shaking the bars as Oliver walked to the door, "You think I won't get out of here?"

The door was opened to reveal the seal of A.R.G.U.S. He demanded, "You think I won't kill those you care for?!"

Oliver responded, glancing at Slade one more time, "No, I don't. Because you're in _purgatory_."

As he walked out and closed the door, Slade started yelling frantically, "I keep my promises, kid. I keep my promises! I keep my promises..."

Oliver let him yell as he climbed the ladder outside the door, opening the hatch and stepping out onto the top of the concrete bunker that had been built on Lian Yu. He let the hatch close with a resounding **thud**.

* * *

**A/N:**

And that concludes the fourth chapter. I hope why he left Slade alive is clear.


	5. Attack

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.

**Failsafe**

**Chapter Five:**

**Attack**

By The Shroud

**A/N:**

The fifth chapter. Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, prompts, etc. It's been a while, but I finally finished this chapter. The next chapter will probably be out in a week. Here's the next chapter, which explores the effects of Slade's operations, and also a change some may find interesting, though others could disagree. Oliver investigates an attack that nearly kills Nyssa al Ghul, leading him to a deadly confrontation with the leader of the League of Assassins. The story continues below.

* * *

_Early October, 2014_

_Abandoned Pier on a Beach in Spain_

For his plan to work, he needed to- there. An agent of the League, judging by his movements, searching for him, Malcolm Merlyn. He walked by, apparently nonchalantly, waiting. As the agent looked his way, he pretended to look over and see the agent, seemingly himself freezing in surprise. The agent moved first, and once he did, Malcolm broke out into a sprint.

The League member was currently about one, two, thr- six meters away from him, barely keeping up. Seven now. As he neared the edge of the pier, Malcolm pulled out a smoke grenade, tossing it to the ground, and diving into the water. The League member dived in after him- but he had already disappeared from there.

As the League member swam back to shore, looking around, confused, Malcolm Merlyn, underneath the pier and behind a pole, grinned despite the cold. A serendipity he did not expect so accurately, but a welcome one.

* * *

_Same Time_

_Glades_

She considered the current situation, as she slowly walked back to a nearby League safehouse a mile away. Though Queen's Verdant was closer, barely using about five minutes of running, it did not have a direct line of communication to Nanda Parbat. Sara was happier now that Ra's al Ghul, her father, had given her the assignments pertaining to Star City in an attempt to make her less... emotional, not for her sake but the assignments'.

This new peace could only last so long. Her father would tire of the distractions Sara would pursue... but until then, the calm could still l-

The sound of three arrows, quickly drawn and fired, indicating skill, rang out through the air from behind. Nyssa began to crouch and spin ar- the arrows were too quick, still digging into her back, just above her heart and through the top of a lung. As she fell in pain on her left side with her back to the ground **[1]**, driving the arrows deeper into her left lung, the archer, dressed in black with a full face mask, hood, and suit vaguely similar to that of the League, walked two steps toward her while drawing a black arrow.

Before the archer could fire the arrow into her heart, a high-pitched sound filled their surroundings, distracting the archer as Sara tackled them, attempting to pin the archer to the ground. Sara landed a few blows as she herself tried to sit up and breath deeply, but the archer threw a flechette at her both to try to finish her and to distract Sara, who managed to catch it, though the archer escaped, running around a corner.

As she struggled to breath, wheezing, Sara chose to help her rather than chase the attacker, picking her up and speaking soothingly, "Everything's going to be fine, Nyssa...", as the world slowly blacked out.

* * *

_A Day Later_

_Foundry_

Sara walked in, and asked, "Is Nyssa going to be okay?"

Roy attempted to reassure her, "She should be fine. Two arteries were almost pierced, together with a collapsed lung. It's taken a while, but now that it's bandaged after emergency thoracic surgery, we just need time and some luck."

Sara nodded, watching Nyssa lying still, barely breathing. He spoke up, "Do we have any idea who attacked her?"

Sara shook her head. "Nothing specific in and of itself. This person was skilled enough to ambush Nyssa. They used black vaned arrows, wore a black mask covering everything except the eyes and hood vaguely similar to that of the League, and judging from the grouping of the arrows, are a legitimate archer."

Oliver's phone rang. As Sara paused in thought, he walked over to pick it up. "Anything yet, Diggle?"

From A.R.G.U.S., Diggle responded, "Got a list of skilled assassin archers with black arrows still in Star City, fifteen or so names long."

He specified, "How many use masks that cover the whole face except the eyes, a hood, and a full body suit similar to the League of Assassins, all black?"

Diggle searched. "Masks, eight. Suit similar to the League, five. Black hood, three. And specifically with a black mask covering everything but the eyes... one. His alias is Komodo, name, Simon Lacroix, born in St. Sophie, Quebec, and raised by a single mother, still on frequent speaking terms."

Oliver replied, "Thanks. We should be able to find him here."

He moved to the computer system Felicity and A.R.G.U.S. had set up, first searching through phone calls to St. Sophie, Quebec. After approximately a third of a minute, the system gave a location **[2]**. "There he is. Roy, Sara?"

Roy nodded, but Sara shook her head and explained, "I have to communicate with the League."

* * *

_Star City, Outside_

As Komodo was about to fire an arrow at someone he was going to try and assassinate, he and Roy fired two of their own in unison. His deflected Komodo's arrow while Roy's, an explosive arrow, burrowed into Komodo's motorcycle. They smoothly stepped off their own motorcycles while Roy's arrow forced Komodo to quickly jump off his own without enough thought or attention.

Before he could get up, Oliver fired two bola arrows, for good measure, tying him up. He started interrogating Komodo, intentionally being ambiguous to possibly scare him, "Who hired you to attack her?!"

It didn't work. Lacroix simply asked, not caring about Oliver's tone, "Who are you talking about?"

He pressured on, drawing an arrow. "Why did you attack Nyssa Raatko al Ghul one night ago, in the Glades?"

Komodo was confused, strangely enough. "A night ago, I was drunk, in Bludhaven. Who's this, this Nyssa? What are you talking about?"

Ignoring his questions, Oliver bluffed in case it was a very good lie, pulling back the bow string further, "You're lying!"

Lacroix smiled sickly from the ground, almost amused. "I'm proud of my work. I wouldn't deny it."

It made sense, perhaps. Komodo used arrows with tips larger than the shaft, while those shot at Nyssa had tips smaller than the shaft. He thought that it was to hide Lacroix was the assassin, but maybe it had not been him **[3]**. Hearing police sirens, he turned to Roy, warning, "We have to go. Let the police find him."

* * *

_Middle May, 2014_

_Star City_

His daughter got into the car, asking, "So, where are we going now?"

He answered almost flippantly, "Wherever you want."

Thea was surprised, "It's up to me?"

She must have not had much experience with being allowed to make an important choice herself. Perhaps this would be another way to form trust between them, a bond. Not caring about the destination anyway, Merlyn explained, "I'm a well-traveled man. I've been to nearly every place in the world there is."

She immediately pieced it together, truly the daughter of Moira and himself. "But you want to get out of here. Because if the police knew you were alive, they would come after you. The Arrow, too."

After the slightest hesitation, he admitted, "You're very perceptive, Thea. Knowing when people are hiding something behind their smiles. Your mother had that talent. Yes. If someone knew where I was, it would be unfortunate. For both of us. So why did you reach out to me?"

She tried to deflect the question. "You reached out first."

Nevertheless, he insisted, "Still...?"

Thea elaborated after a second, "I don't wanna hurt. Or get hurt. Ever again. And you seem like someone who can teach me how not to."

He had felt much the same way with Ra's. Thea knew he was dangerous, he had known Ra's was dangerous. The difference was, Thea is his daughter, and he had no connection with Ra's beforehand. Ra's had brainwashed him when he had not been as willing to kill at first, and though he has to do the same… he wouldn't let it last a second longer than necessary for her survival. Malcolm offered, "I can teach you to be strong, in heart and body. I can teach you to protect yourself so no one will ever hurt you again. That's what every father wants for his daughter."

After a moment... she nodded **[4]**.

* * *

_Late October, 2014_

_An Airport in Star City_

His sister stepped down out of the private jet, turning around from talking with someone else, for him to warmly greet her with a hug. Strangely, she tenses, surprised and ready to strike out, but tries to relax so he doesn't notice. He pretends not to, choosing instead to say, somewhat emotionally, "I missed you. It's good to have you home again."

Ever since Felicity had died, Laurel had nearly been killed, and especially now that Nyssa had nearly died, he had been having nightmares about Slade somehow escaping and coming back to haunt him in one way or another. Last month, he had a particularly vivid one about Slade having had a follower stay behind from the main siege, to abduct and kill his sister, causing his and Roy's inability to contact her. He was very close to going to Lian Yu to snap Slade's neck already, but the thought that it wasn't what Felicity or Tommy would have wanted was enough to stop him, just as it stopped him from killing criminals anymore.

Musing morosely over his thoughts, he barely noticed her returning the hug and responding softly, "It's good to be back."

* * *

_Early November, 2014_

_Foundry_

"That's impossible," Oliver said. "I stabbed him through about six arteries and veins, and saw him go unconscious from the blood loss. Even if Malcolm faked it, he would've needed to stay conscious for the next five seconds that we were still there on the rooftop, and sewn himself back up in an inconceivable time of about… two seconds. Even then, he'd be missing a lot of blood, and be in dire need of more, requiring the use of blood bags that I suppose he could have hidden under a part of his armor, but would require some time to take effect. How could anyone survive that? The only other people that were there any time soon were the cops, who arrived a full two hours later, and found his body."

She shook her head. "Not his body. An agent of the League investigated to verify whether Moira was right, and it was, at first, apparently his body. However, a second agent that remained behind in the shadows found that he had someone on the inside at the coroner's bring him back to life, apparently using CPR and also a compound that is known by the League as Lazarus Pit water, which is capable of healing any injury within a second, including death in some rare cases, though as the severity of the wound increases so do chances of side effects like insanity. Ra's believes he stole it while in the service of the League. Malcolm thus used it both to evade being killed by you, healing those wounds almost instantaneously and being discovered by the first agent, though he failed to escape the second's notice. He was sighted about a month ago in Spain on the same day Nyssa was attacked, but he could be anywhere now. Nyssa and I were sent here to look around in Star City and its neighbors, so Ra's still suspects his involvement, if not active participation. He was known as 'the Magician' within the League, and for a reason."

Diggle muttered, "Great, now he's even crazier."

Sara noted, "In some cases, the waters of the Lazarus Pit do reverse insanity, though not entirely. Maybe, if we're lucky, that happened. Still, no matter what, Ra's wants him to pay for failing one of his assignments, to successfully 'cleanse' Star City without the public knowing it was done artificially **[5]**. There are rumors he intends to send his most capable horseman still in the League, known as Sarab. While Nyssa and I were investigating, we found links to someone called 'Jansen'. I figure we should go to him and see if he knows anything about Malcolm."

Oliver promises, "I'll find him. Maybe find out something about any such involvement." She nodded.

* * *

_Nelson Plaza_

Oliver had managed to hit him with a tracking device back in Jansen's monastery, but he had taken advantage of that to propose a neutral meeting ground, out in public, here. Now that Oliver had arrived, Malcolm would wait, until Oliver was clearly uneased. A few moments more...

He stepped out and walked down toward his godson, who whirled around to face him. He started jovially, as if the last time they spoke Oliver had not nearly killed him, while also trying to offset Oliver from the start by unexpectedly cutting to the chase, "Hello, Oliver! How are you today? Perhaps more important to why you were looking for me, how is Nyssa, after her last accident? Still as proud and tenacious as ever? Then again, that tenacity is good for her. I'm glad I didn't do it. You've accomplished a lot with this city. Perhaps I _was_ doing it wrong."

Good, he had confused his godson. Oliver tended to be a bit too straightforward whenever someone mentioned a difficulty someone else important to him had faced, like Sara almost lost Nyssa recently, and this made him struggle to regain his footing after Malcolm had gone against the likely initial expectation of hiding as much as possible and not being willing to admit a mistake. Now, he would try to put himself in control, being more obsessed with his initial line of attack **[6]**, and thus easier to manipulate. It was an unfortunate weakness, but it was in his advantage now.

Oliver growled, "If you didn't do it, how do you know of it?"

Malcolm simply smiled, like it was just a game, and in a way, it felt like one to him. "These streets were mine long before you laid claim to them. Despite that claim, this is still my city. I understand you're not killing people these days. Not even the person who killed your mother, who killed your close friend."

Oliver deflected, finally starting to regain his ground, "He was my friend once. More than that, I wanted him to suffer, not just die. He'll suffer while he's down there. I'm thinking of doing the same with you, but I'm also seriously considering making an exception to that rule of not killing."

Malcolm defended himself with half-truths, sensing his attack didn't work as he hoped, "Ra's al Ghul has placed a blood debt on my head, as Sara must have told you. Why would I try to lift it by killing his daughter? It's illogical!"

Oliver probed, attempting to build a reasonable chain of events, but his chain lacked any actual links. ""Nyssa and Sara start looking for you here in Star City. You are conspicuously noticed in Spain, far away, at the very same time Nyssa is attacked. That makes it seem like you hired someone to attack her, while you danced around to try and make us look like fools."

He had underestimated his godson. Similarly to his dead son, he parried with sarcasm, to hide any underlying truth. "No, Oliver, that makes it seem like I had nothing to do with it. Just because I was noticed doesn't mean I was lording anything over them. Do you know how effective the League is at finding people and noticing them? If it wasn't effective, would Ra's really waste any resources on looking for me, rather than a variety of other things around the globe?"

Oliver continued along another line. "Then what are you doing here now, if not to try and finish Nyssa before we are able to transport her to Nanda Parbat?"

So Nyssa was fine, but critically injured. He was glad it seemed he hadn't needed to kill her, though indirectly. He answered honestly, "For Thea. Because of what I did, Tommy died. I have felt that guilt ever since, and I won't let another child of mine die or get hurt because of my actions or lack thereof. I know you don't think highly of me, but know that I will protect Thea. Even if you don't trust anything else I say, please trust that I will not let her die."

* * *

_Middle November, 2014_

_Unknown Location_

He was finishing sharpening his katana in preparation for the fight with one of the most skilled horsemen Ra's had ever had, someone who was nearly on the level of Ra's himself. He, Sarab, would have to use the full extent of traps he was going to lay about and use every trick to get an advantage if he was to defeat Malcolm Merlyn **[7]**. He may be almost as skilled, enough for luck and his youth to possibly be enough, but he did not want to die at the Magician's hands if he could help it.

His bait that he had hanging upside-down from the ceiling, continued her rant, "I'm going to get out of this, and when I do I'm going to kill you!"

Rather than continue ignoring her, he, in respect for his friend, decided to try and calm her, speaking through the mask that distorted how his voice sounded. "I apologize for involving you with this, Ms. Queen. Though those I work for would not care, I won't kill you. My only target for now is your father, Al Sah-her."

She attempted to scare him, fruitlessly. "You know what he's going to do to you when he gets here."

Sarab replied tonelessly, "I know what he will try. I also know everything he is capable of. I will capture him and deliver him to my master."

Having been distracted by the conversation, he did not notice someone else entering the building, who fired an arrow at the rope suspending her in the air, ran to catch her, and cut her bindings with a flechette. Sarab could tell from the suit that it was his previous friend, Oliver, who spoke to his sister, "Run."

As she followed Oliver's command, he picked his sword up, ready to defend himself, letting Oliver turn around. "I have no quarrel with you, merely your godfather. Do not interfere. For what it's worth, it's good to see you again."

Oliver was confused, naturally. "Do I know you?"

Sarab explained, neutrally, "You did. Once."

While Oliver was confused and searching his memory, he drew his katana and struck at him. Oliver was barely able to raise his bow in time, and he stepped forward twice, forcing Oliver to turn to the side and avoid the blade, pulling back his bow with him. He sliced at Oliver's head, crouched to avoid a kick, and blocked the bow from colliding with his bask with his katana. He sliced once down from the left, from the right, and then from the right again horizontally at Oliver's throat to force him off balance.

Oliver blocked with his bow, however, letting him run toward a wall, pinning Oliver against it as he drove the bottom edge of the katana closer and closer to Oliver's neck. He spoke, trying to avoid tiring himself more than necessary before the fight with Merlyn, "Submit."

Oliver responds, as stubborn as in Hong Kong, "Not until you stop," before managing to pull a flechette from his gauntlet and almost drive it into his wrist, forcing him to step back. As he moved to strike again with his sword, an arrow from above forced it out of his hands. He looked up to see the looming figure of the Magician.

Malcolm spoke almost aggressively, "There's a conversation we should all have."

Sarab narrowed his eyes in thought as he grabbed his bow and some arrows. "What do you speak of?"

His target attempted to justify himself, "I didn't attack the Demon's daughter. I didn't hire anyone to do it. And I certainly didn't want her dead."

He asked, attempting to find a hole in his claim, "Then who did, Magician?"

Merlyn almost shrugged, as though the matter were of no consequence, deflecting, "I couldn't be sure. Possibly someone connected to a prior target. What makes most sense to me is your master's famed nemesis, Damien Darhk."

Sarab doubted it. "Darhk? If he had been involved, he would not hide it, but instead gloat over it. Connections to the League's targets are thoroughly investigated. If they could be a problem, then they would have been eliminated."

Oliver apparently believed it. "Perhaps this 'Darhk' needs to hide his success, or frame Malcolm."

He stated, almost incredulous, though he did not shift his tone, "Nonetheless, Al Sah-her has still broken the League's code. I shall not go back empty handed."

His friend proposed a compromise. "Then don't. I vow to protect and monitor Malcolm Merlyn, with the condition he stays in Star City, in exchange for his training of myself and the League to no longer interfere with Star City without my acceptance. I also vow to hunt him down and deliver him to the League should he ever attempt to break the League's code again or attempt to leave without my oversight. In his place, I will cleanse Star City using my own methods. That is my offer; give it to Ra's."

Sarab nodded, but before walking away, he warned, "You are making a serious enemy out of the League, Oliver."

* * *

_Early December, 2014_

_Foundry_

As he contemplated the details of the Lian Yu prison that he had just incarcerated Digger Harkness within, obsessively looking for vulnerabilities that Slade could exploit, he suddenly whirled around at a sound of someone falling to the ground gracefully, only to see the warrior he had later found out to be called Sarab that he had fought after freeing Thea. Irritated, he asked, "What is it?"

Sarab lowered his hood and removed his mask, to reveal the face of his old friend, Maseo, making him speechless. His friend spoke, almost remorsefully, "In the wake of Ra's' acceptance of your offer, it has been determined that Nyssa's attacker could only be in Star City. Therefore, Ra's has crafted an ultimatum, that you find and turn over Nyssa's attacker in 48 hours… or the League will undertake this task. I will be forced to lead the mission, which means that, if you fail, as we comb out the city, I may be forced to kill and allow the killing of Star City citizens who will inevitably end up in our path. Ra's commands that you should consider this to be incentive. I pray that you succeed."

As Sarab- no, Maseo was going to walk away and put back on the mask and hood, he called out, "Maseo… wait. What happened to you?"

His friend stopped, and turned back, answering, "After Akio died, I needed to prevent something like that from ever happening, ever again, to anyone. I joined the League because they were willing to do whatever was necessary to stop people like General Shrieve. But I could not return. I was allowed to, but my mind could not let me. Instead, I worked to add some degree of mercy to the League's operations. I have been able to avoid shedding any more innocent blood than when I worked for Waller. Please, don't let the League force me to do what Ra's insists."

* * *

_Middle December, Almost One Day Later_

_Foundry_

"Diggle, what are the results for the DNA we found on the arrow **[8]**? Almost half our time is up."

His friend responded evenly despite Oliver's impatience, knowing as well as himself that it was from stress, "I know. Oliver, you're not going to like this. The DNA… it's Thea's."

Shocked and feeling betrayed, he answered in an empty voice, "Thea… okay. Th-thank you, Diggle."

He hung up abruptly, before burying his face in his hands. He heard footsteps, forcing him to look up, only to groan at who he saw.

Malcolm, who had been training him in how to use a sword in case the League tried anything at all, chuckled, which was never a good sign. "So you've found out that Thea did it."

Oliver immediately connected the dots. "You knew this whole time. Meaning… this was all you. You trained her much as you have been training me, and used her to attack Nyssa while you were far away. When I spared Slade, I thought I would never kill again. Now I realize... I was wrong."

He struck out, grabbing Malcolm's throat to try and throw him against the countertop, but Malcolm grasped his arm, twisting it almost until it broke while pressing a painful pressure point, before whirling around and letting it go in favor of a chokehold. "You're still as arrogant as the first time we fought. You think I'd teach you everything I know, up to every last trick that could be useful to take you down that you might develop a counterattack for? Even if you managed to get the upper hand like in our fight up on the rooftop, there's the fact that I have kidnapped your little sidekick, Roy, and killing me would lead to his starvation. Consider that to be an incentive. Maybe you could manage to torture the information on where he is out of me… but I can withstand a lot of pain, for a long time. Are you willing to risk it?!"

Forcing himself to think rationally, he asked bitterly, "So why did you have Thea attack Nyssa? And how?"

Merlyn answered almost amicably, "Perhaps you've heard of Vortura? Yes, I see you have. When the League discovered my continued survival despite failing my assignment to secretly cleanse Star City, it incurred a blood debt that Thea inherits as my daughter. I am skilled enough to evade the League's attacks, but Thea is not, despite my best attempts at training her. I have footage that proves Thea was the one who attacked Nyssa, footage which Ra's al Ghul now has. As a result of her unwitting and unwilling disrespect of attacking his daughter, this incurs a blood debt of her own. Therefore, you can now clear it once you challenge him to a duel, though you will receive half a lunar phase cycle, or about two full weeks, a day, and a bit more, of preparation if the challenge is accepted, as I expect it will. If you die, as I expect, as a family member of Thea your sacrifice erases all of her blood debt, incidentally including that inherited by myself, even though you aren't related to me. If by some miracle you do survive, that can only be if you managed to defeat Ra's, meaning you become the heir to Ra's al Ghul, so you may then, and will, choose to clear her blood debt of your own free will because you, much as I do, care about her."

Oliver growled, "I didn't give her a death sentence."

Malcolm shook his head calmly, releasing his chokehold on him. "I would never put her in danger, and I didn't, because I know you'll make the choice to save her, as you have always saved those you care for. Maybe you consider me selfish for protecting myself and only those I care for, but you possess the same affliction."

Stuck with no better option to follow through, Oliver relented. "Fine. Release Roy, and I will challenge Ra's."

His godfather smirked, but nodded. "I am the one in control. I have no need to negotiate. But because Thea cares for him, I'll let him go. After I leave. Good luck, Oliver."

* * *

_Late December, 2014_

_Nanda Parbat_

On the mountaintop within Nanda Parbat Ra's had decided upon, he had just arrived with nothing but his hood, which he had lowered, his suit, his arrows, his flechettes, and his bow, the last three of which he had been instructed to give to one of the assassins, who merely carried it to within the League base for safekeeping.

It had been half a full lunar phase cycle, from a full moon to a new moon, taking nearly 15 days. He saw a tall, hooded figure with a cloak at the edge of the cliff side, who he presumed was Ra's al Ghul himself **[9]**. To the right, he saw Nyssa, who had made a miraculous recovery, presumably with the Lazarus Pit water, and to the left he saw Maseo, who nodded very slightly to him as a gesture of respect for their friendship.

Five assassins brought out a case of weapons, ranging from swords and knives to staffs and tonfas, and placed it to his left. The hooded figure raised their head, lowered their hood, and unclasped the cloak, having a dark and tactical yet formal suit beneath, to give it to Nyssa, before turning around to face him and begin speaking, "Hello, Mr. Queen. I am Ra's al Ghul. I have been alive for more years than you can imagine. I have seen and done things that would shake the core of what you believe. I am thought to be a demon. A saint. A ghost. I have not received a challenge, such as this, from a worthy enough opponent in over half a century. Pick from the case the weapons you wish, boy."

Oliver understood immediately that to trifle with Ra's would be an instant death sentence. He walked close to Maseo, looking for a weapon that suited him. Eventually, he decided upon a long scimitar. Seeing this, Ra's spoke, "Fight me."

He stated, attempting to force Ra's to attack first and lose balance, "You're unarmed."

To Ra's, it did not matter. "I will take your blades from you once you're through with them."

He nodded, before lunging forward, while keeping his balance on the snow, swinging his sword down at Ra's.

* * *

**A/N:**

And that concludes the fifth chapter. I hope it was interesting. Personally, I think the cliffhanger cutting off right as the duel begins is better than showing the battle, as it's obvious he's going to eventually survive either way, but it is not too obvious (I hope) whether he wins or not. Not much Amanda Waller, but she'll definitely be in the next chapter, which shall be called, 'Weapon'. Again, please review, let me know if I should continue.

**[1]** From what I can find, lying on the side with the injury to the ground causes gravity to help against a collapsed lung. Probably doesn't help the loss of blood, though, but the arrows, which are still in the wound and have tips thinner than the shaft, should mitigate that to a degree.

**[2]** Oliver's not dumb, and has had experience at A.R.G.U.S. with computers. This is an obvious enough way to possibly narrow it down.

**[3]** This is in part a plot device to make Nyssa's survival more probable. The in-universe reason is that Malcolm Merlyn wanted to distinguish the arrows from his own, to make it seem more likely he didn't do it (different design). Also, it gives Oliver another reason to believe Komodo.

**[4]** The dialogue from the show is mixed up. The S3 dialogue is different from the S6 flashback dialogue, though they both happen in the same place and car, with some of the almost exact same phrases, and with Malcolm and Thea. I combined them, so that's why it's so different from the original, if anyone's wondering.

**[5]** I hope people like this change, about the problem being that Malcolm helped the corrupt rich, only destroyed half the Glades, only destroyed the Glades, failed to eliminate the threat to his operation properly, and failed to carry out the mission with absolute secrecy from both the public and the elite. It just clicked, and is more reasonable than Ra's throwing a tantrum about Malcolm doing it without his approval. I also read that in a Batman or Justice League show, it was said that the League only went after their own when they failed, which almost never happens. Well, it fit. Malcolm failed, in Ra's' eyes.

**[6]** When Oliver feels hurt, even indirectly from someone else or if it's a lasting trauma like that built from the island, he grows a one-track mind. That's why he didn't want to believe Moira was involved, that Helena couldn't be redeemed (well, on the show she couldn't), even that the Dark Archer might be a threat he couldn't handle, etc. That's how Malcolm manipulated him every time, and how Adrian manipulated him every time.

**[7]** This is how much I am buffing Malcolm Merlyn, and is about how I'd always buff him. He has so many similarities with Oliver (I'd list them, but it's literally a quarter-page long), he should definitely be a main character with huge plot ramifications throughout the series for as long as he lives in just about any fanfic, and perhaps also massive effects following even his death (i.e., Thanatos Guild, other earthquake device, manipulations or other organizations, etc.). Nyssa acted very proud in this scene (the original scene where she was there instead of Maseo), as if she was far more skilled than him, but everything that happened on the show seemed to indicate otherwise, that he was rather a bit more skilled than her. The only reason Oliver was able to beat him in the first season was that Malcolm is older (old enough to be his father), less fit (he hasn't been training for five years and regularly exercising by ending criminals with a bow and arrow), and was acting arrogantly (gloating and not paying attention to Oliver grasping for the arrow).

**[8]** I like it when there's a minor crossover with the Flash every so often, but I'd imagine A.R.G.U.S., a government black ops organization that has to investigate things as part of what it does, is more likely to have something than S.T.A.R. Labs, which seem to focus more on physics, engineering, and electronics than biology.

**[9]** I first heard of Gotham's Ra's al Ghul when reading a fanfic by ArlyssTolero (one of the best authors I know), and when I found out he was also played by the same person who played Dr. Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (the best character on there, in my opinion), I realized that I should find out everything I could. Out of all the versions I know of, he is definitely my favorite, and the one I would always use, as I have here.

* * *

**Omake:**

In addition, I have a omake or deleted scene for those who are interested. I liked it, but it just didn't fit, and won't fit in later chapters as much as it might have. Originally, I was going to have Oliver return to killing right after her death, but it felt too soon and contrasted with the plot here and that to come too much. So here's that scene below.

* * *

_Early October, 2014_

_Foundry_

As he walked out into the Foundry, he saw Oliver hunched over some monitors, researching obsessively over people connected to the List. After no reaction, Diggle spoke up neutrally, "You know, I thought we were done with the killing thing, after Tommy, and especially once you didn't kill Slade, even though… you know. Then I heard you starting to drop bodies again... literally, since I was walking out of a nearby restaurant when I heard a thug drop out of a window, and saw he had a green arrow through his neck."

Oliver breathed out as he stood up and turned to Diggle, answering, "I didn't kill Slade because he was a brother to me once, and I wanted his sentence to be carried out in full. Now, it feels like killing is the only way to be sure they don't get back up, like Slade did after the Amazo. Especially after, after-"

He understood. "If it's your choice, it's fine. Just remember, I'm always here to help, whenever you need it." Oliver, silent from grief, nodded gratefully.


	6. Weapon

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.

**Failsafe**

**Chapter Six**

**Weapon**

By The Shroud

**A/N:**

The sixth chapter. Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, etc. Here's the next chapter, which explores the effects of Malcolm's manipulations and Ra's' relentlessness. Oliver starts to become the weapon of a multiple parties... against each other. Shall we begin?

* * *

_Late December, 2014_

_Nanda Parbat_

He lunged forward, while keeping his balance on the snow, swinging his sword down at Ra's.

The Demon's Head sidestepped the blade's stroke at a speed nearly inhuman, striking the flat edge with a swift and powerful chop, forcing Oliver to step to the other side himself and lose a bit of balance. As he was about to regain it by putting his left foot back on the ground, Ra's swept his left foot off the ground at the ankle in a technique similar to those of judo. In turn, he hopped back a few feet on one foot to avoid another attack from Ra's, barely also avoiding an edge of the cliff. Ra's did not move forward, instead hanging back and putting both his hands behind his back, clasped together.

He reevaluated how he would attack. Ra's' physical capabilities matched and maybe exceeded his own. The same applied to skill and mental capabilities. The only way he could survive is if he managed to successfully use a trick to land a hit, and take the advantage from there. He started to circle Ra's, moving to an area where there was more snow, before he practically launched forward, swinging the scimitar horizontally from the right.

As Ra's unclasped his hands and bent his knees to either parry or dodge, he kicked up a large concentration of snow. As it went into Ra's' eyes, he slowed down, crouched, and spun his wrist around, avoiding a parry, then back to turn the swing into a powerful jab into the thigh, before bringing the blade down through a few nerves in Ra's' left shin, and sprinting back. Ra's managed to tag him with a painful punch to the gut before he could get out of reach again.

As he panted and recovered his breath, uncomfortable in the cold environment, Ra's shook the snow off his head, limping from being unable to use his left leg, and commented, "Only a few warriors have ever managed to inflict a cut upon me **[1]**. I'm impressed, my son."

Oliver nodded in thanks, knowing that Ra's would be on his guard more now than ever befor- his opponent suddenly lashed out, stomping on and crushing the bones in his right foot while clasping his sword with both hands to deliver an elbow jab from the side to his nose before moving back by rolling twice, in pain himself.

Dazed from the elbow jab, he blinked rapidly, falling down onto his right knee with a painful halt on a rock right under the snow. Ra's slowly advanced towards him, walking with the left leg limp and being dropped onto the ground, somehow pushing forward despite the sheer pain that must be a result of how badly mangled the leg had been.

He moved to swing his scimitar, but Ra's blocked it on the flat edge with his left forearm and, before he could even think of turning the blade, wrapped his left arm around it, pinning it between his upper arm and both the side of his chest and his forearm **[2]**. The Demon's Head used this as leverage to force it out of Oliver's hand, then dropping it from its pinned position only to catch it with the same arm's hand before it even dropped a foot, before jabbing it into his chest, on the opposite side of and lower than his heart.

As he choked up blood, Ra's spoke to him, "My son, do not be afraid. Death… comes for us all. One can only evade it for so long. This… is an honorable exit."

Ra's drew out the sword, causing more blood flow. He spat what he could out of his mouth down into the snow, while the wound in his chest would freeze over. He was a survivor, he would do everything he could to survive until death itself had not only knocked on his door, but broken in and started choking him of life. Ra's started a prayer in Arabic. "_Forgive and have mercy upon him… excuse and pardon him… make honorable his reception. Protect him from the punishment of the grave… and the torment of the fire._"

Once the prayer was complete, Ra's threw the sword down into the ground, lifted him up, and threw him down. As he fell, he remembered those he cared about. He collided with many tree branches, before eventually falling on top of a thick layer of snow, breaking a rib and his left leg. The cold set in, and he slowly drifted off to sleep, nearly entirely immobile.

* * *

_At The Top Of The Mountain_

Ra's mentally sighed in disappointment. He had seen, in brief flashes of prophetic sight, that Queen would become an heir. Somehow, it had not come to pass. He called back the power of the Demon's Head, which was contained within the Demon's Ring.

The ring materialized out of smoke on his finger, and so he then used its abilities to heal himself, darkness reaching out of his cuts to envelop their entire wounds, before dispersing into the air as the respective injuries healed.

Without a word to any of his followers, he crouched down and meditated, seeking a vision of what was to come, and his ring suddenly darkened from deep brown to pitch black, draining the surroundings of brightness or color.

He saw, and felt in a vague, personal matter, a small multitude of events necessary for what he needed. Mr. Queen would yet become his heir, once he slackened the leash on three of his Shadows, who possessed some necessary part in the events yet to come that could themselves lead to his ends- and hopefully also his end.

* * *

_Late January, 2015_

_Foundry_

"A.R.G.U.S. installed, as part of the 'vigilante-operative' package of sorts that Oliver requested when he started all this, a pattern recognition software. We can run these numbers on the blueprints through there. Maybe it'll give us a lead on Brickwell," he explained.

"Sounds g-"

Roy stopped, leading Diggle to pause, before noticing the door to the lair was open. He pulled out a gun, holding it in front of his heart as he crouched and crept in through the door. Hoping for a miracle, Roy called out, "Oliver? Is it you?"

Not wanting to give himself hope, he stayed silent, slowly advancing down the stairs in case there was an attacker. He poked his head out, before fully walking out with the gun raised and aimed at the intruder, seeing it was Merlyn, who infallibly got into their base every time he pleased.

The perpetual thorn in his side spoke condescendingly, "Put the gun down. It doesn't scare so much as annoy me."

Feeling hostile, Diggle pulled out a second gun with his left hand. Sarcastically putting his hands up, Merlyn tried to get him to calm down. "I've only come here to talk. Would it be possible to do that?"

He looked at Roy, nodding at the bow and arrows to the side, before looking back at Merlyn. Roy picked it up, drawing back the arrow. Picking up the message, Merlyn explained himself. "Oliver. I need to know if he is still alive."

Diggle and Roy lowered their weapons. He answered, "We can't be sure. Either he died, he's unable to contact us… or can't. We're trying to do what he would want us to, to protect this city."

Merlyn walked past, saying in passing, "Okay then. That sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm going to actually investigate, see if there's anything to find. Who knows, maybe I can bring back my godson's corpse for all of us to see."

* * *

_Later That Week_

Diggle and Harper were working on something involving a number, a pattern, a catalogue, or something. He stepped out of the shadows behind them. "I'm sorry to interrupt."

Harper commented, "Can we keep him out by changing the locks?"

He tossed the bloody scimitar to Diggle, who caught it carefully. "What is this?!"

He explained, "The League conducts duels on grounds they consider sacred. I went to such grounds, and I found that. It's Ra's' custom to leave behind the instrument of death as a memorial for the fallen."

Diggle seized a loose end. "Merlyn, did you see his body?"

Malcolm paused, and _lied_, "His body fell into a ravine. The remains are… _unrecoverable_, I'm afraid. You can test the scimitar, see that the blood really is Oliver's."

Wordlessly, not trusting himself not to possibly give something away, he went out, to continue training Laurel Lance. He needed all the allies he could get if the League escalated things, even novice allies, and perhaps he could get her to return the favor if she found his lessons useful.

* * *

_A Day Earlier_

_Somewhere Within The Country of Nanda Parbat_

Oliver awoke with a start, gasping for air and in pain. He vaguely heard his godfather calling out, "Well, well. Wakey, wakey. He's conscious!"

Before he could sit up, a female voice warned, "Don't move. You'll pull out the sutures."

He turned his head to the side, and saw Tatsu, before asking, "How did y- wha- what happened?"

Malcolm explained, unhelpfully, "You died. Sarab found you."

"I asked her and the Magician to come here. Al Sah-her called two others to help," elaborated Maseo, behind him.

Malcolm clarified, "I ran out of my own Lazarus Pit water. While I'm seeking out alternative possibilities, I managed to get a hold of someone who still had enough of their own, through a friend of yours."

In walked Sara and Nyssa. Sara must have been contacted by Malcolm, who was only helping him to convey favor with Thea, and then she convinced Nyssa to help. They both nodded, confirming that Malcolm was not lying.

He asked Maseo, "Are you choosing to follow your father's own advice? Not to live by two names?"

Maseo nodded. "I am." Oliver smiled, happy at the return of his old friend.

* * *

_A Day Later_

_League Main Base In Nanda Parbat_

As he sat in his throne, he meditated, calling for a vision of that which was to come relating to Oliver Queen. The Demon's Ring darkened for a split second, giving him the impression of a face and a name, Tatsu Yamashiro.

The wife of one of the three current Shadows he had allowed more free reign to, on an instinct based on a prior vision. Ra's noted that those three and Malcolm marked up to be four of his Horsemen, that related to Queen, his possible heir, matching an old prophecy he had received relating Star City long ago. Tatsu lived, within a hut, in self-exile after her son had died, not far from the site of his duel with Queen.

Using the Ring, he wordlessly ordered three Ravens **[3]**, nameless intelligence agents with combat skills in between that of his horsemen and his assassins, to infiltrate the house she lived in and determine who was or had been there.

* * *

_Later That Day_

_Somewhere In The Country of Nanda Parbat_

Maseo inquired solemnly, "You're all sure you don't have any of the waters hidden away somewhere? At this rate, we're risking detection by Ra's. He will slaughter us like animals if he becomes certain of our treachery."

Tatsu and Malcolm were away. Oliver was sleeping. Nyssa and Sara shook their heads, watching over Oliver from the room the three were all in as he recovered, and the former noted pessimistically, "The power of the Demon's Ring allows him to see pieces of the future. He may already -"

Three League Ravens burst in through the front door, kicking it down. Maseo drew his katana as Nyssa drew her own sword and Sara took out her tonfas. The assassins similarly grabbed their own needle point daggers, splitting up in three.

Maseo's Raven threw two knives that he blocked with his sword, before she used two more to trap his blade and force it off to the side. He could tell she was not well-trained. Maseo twisted the katana back, maneuvering around the Raven to both knock aside the left knife and slit open the jugular vein just under the ear with his katana.

Looking to the side, he saw Sara managing to get a hold on her own Raven's neck to snap it, and Nyssa matching blow for blow with the center Raven, who was just as skilled as a horseman of Ra's al Ghul. He moved to assist her- but she had accelerated her attacks suddenly enough to catch the Raven off guard and cut his arm off, before she cut off his other hand and threw her sword at- _into_ his neck just as Sara snapped the neck of the other Raven. Nyssa paused to catch her breath, before grasping, slowly pulling out her sword, and placing it back in her scabbard.

Sara asked as they all calmed down, "How are we going to cover this up?"

Maseo considered, before answering, "We claim we were trying to track down places where Oliver 'would be if he was still alive'. We encountered the Ravens, and assisted them, but were unable to obtain Malcolm Merlyn, a traitor of the League, nor Tatsu Yamashiro, who assisted him, in this house due to their skill and traps that defeated the Ravens. We can all stage wounds to confirm this."

Nyssa shook her head. "I can't go back to the League. I've begun to realize that I can't live under my father's heel any longer. I need to become more, become myself. Staying part of the League makes that impossible. Say I was working with Tatsu and Malcolm, escaping the League much as Sara did."

Sara realized something similar was true for her. "I've escaped before. It would not be plausible that she would try again without me. Besides, it'll explain how we defeated three Ravens and you better."

Maseo nodded, before taking up one of the fallen needle point knives, inflicting several believable cuts on his face, neck, arms, and clothing, before dropping it and walking outside, continuing on through the pain with determination.

* * *

_Early February, 2015_

_Glades_

Harper and Laurel stood there in front of Brick, while he and Diggle were perched up high and hidden from Brick's view, all with their respective _costumes_. Diggle had received a helmet from A.R.G.U.S. that vaguely reminded Malcolm of a Spartan warrior's helmet, and so he had given Diggle the sarcastic nickname 'Spartan' **[4]**. It was a somewhat spiteful agreement to work together, but an agreement nonetheless. They had no backup, and would have to defeat the man who murdered his wife and that man's army on their own **[5]**.

Laurel started, "Daniel Brickwell…"

"...you have failed this city!" completed Harper. And he had thought it was ridiculous when his godson was preaching it to all the people on the List **[6]**.

The true killer of his wife responded, "And you seem to have failed in your maths. Can't you see there are a lot more of us than there are of you?"

About thirty people stepped out from behind buildings on each side of Brick. Rather than respond, his recent student, Laurel, gave the 'kill' order over the comms, "Execute."

Malcolm and Diggle started raining down tranquilizer arrows and darts, from the boxes they had brought to the rooftop, with their bow and specialized sniper rifle, respectively. Brick ran for cover, while, like a coward, yelling, "Get them! Get them!" **[7]**

He somewhat proudly saw Laurel, along with Harper, beating down the remaining thugs despite their guns. He notified them, "Don't worry about Brick. I'll get him. This is personal."

Malcolm drew a grappling arrow he had saved for this from the box of arrows, and grappled down in front of where he saw Brick was escaping to. He waited as he heard Brick's panicked footsteps. Any moment now…

Brick turned around, seeing him, and asked in a growl, "Really?! How many of you _masks_ are there anyway!?"

As his foe raised the gun, he quickly drew an arrow and shot it through that hand while it also knocked the gun away. Malcolm ran forward, moving to land blow after blow, and despite Brick's feeble and unskilled attempts to fight back, succeeded in beating Brick down.

Malcolm stood up, pulling off his hood, dropping the bow, and picking up Brick's gun, before leveling it at Brick's head. He spoke angrily, "This is for Rebecca."

Brick asked, "What?"

He realized, "You don't even know her name, do you?"

Malcolm kicked Brick in the ribs a few more times, before asking, "Is this the weapon you used to _murder_ my wife?"

Brick confirmed, "Everybody I dropped was with that piece."

He remembered his wife. "She was a good person. Decent. Kind. She ran a clinic right here in the Glades."

Brick had the nerve to _smile_. "The brunette? Haha, oh yeah, now I remember. She was my first, my initiation into a gang."

Malcolm was shocked by the senselessness he had not encountered in the League. "You murdered my wife because you wanted into a _gang_?"

Brick snarled, "Nah. I murdered her because she was _weak_. And because she was crying, begging me not to kill her. You're weak too. You should have finished me instead of asking all these questions!"

Unseen at the moment, Brick had another gun, and managed to pull it out and get a shot in, that pierced the League suit kevlar at near point blank range. As the pain started sinking in and the blood started flowing out, he stumbled, and Brick got up before leveling the gun at his head, saying, "Bye, bye."

The sound of an arrow being shot rang out through the air, as an arrow knocked the second gun out of Brick's hand.

He covered the wound with his left hand and slowly got up, seeing Oliver. "Good to see you've recovered."

Before Oliver could get a word in, he raised the gun and fired three bullets into Brick's heart, and his wife's killer stumbled before crumpling to the floor, finally dead.

Malcolm explained himself. "That wasn't just out of vengeance for my wife. If I had killed him back then… everything would have different. The League, The Undertaking, Tommy… _everything_. He caused that level of pain to me, but he won't to any more people. He was too dangerous to risk leaving alive."

And it seemed Oliver finally understood the need to kill those who were a danger to society again, as he simply nodded.

* * *

_Middle February, 2015_

_Lian Yu_

"I can't believe it," his sister said angrily. "He _drugged me_ and made me attack someone I didn't even know. And then he forced you to fight the leader of a huge organization of assassins. It's a miracle you're alive now, Oliver. After this… I don't trust him. He may be our instructor, but he isn't trustworthy."

He understood what she meant. "Thea, the reason I wanted you to come here with me is that Slade Wilson is here on this island. I'm going to see him, maybe release him, and I wanted your opinion as well."

She was confused. "Wait, what? Why? That psychopath-"

Oliver interrupted, "That psychopath was my brother once, before the Mirakuru. The Mirakuru twisted him, making him less of himself. Perhaps its damages to his mind have healed. He's just as skilled as I am, and could help us if Ra's comes back for me. We need all the help we can get."

After a tense moment, she nodded. They walked along, until they found the hatch. He opened it up with his code, prints, retina, signature, and voice. "Oliver Queen, 0392-5478-A940." The first zero meant he was an A.R.G.U.S. 'shadow operative' that was not recruited willfully, the three clarified his clearance, with highest clearance corresponding to the lowest numbers, where only the director had zero, the deputy director(s) had one, and only the very highest ranking agents had two, the nine-two identified his skill set with an arbitrary system that included combinations thereof and skill level, the 5478 was his ID number, and the A940 was a personal password set to shift on each use according to preset instructions he chose.

It unlocked, and they both went down, Thea closing the hatch after her. He went to the appropriate door, again verified himself, this time it also X-rayed him and used infrared radiation. The door unlocked, and he pushed it wide open, taking the ID badge from the slot to the side. Oliver saw Slade crouching in a corner, and whispered to Thea, "Stay here."

A guard walked up to him to inquire about his business here, and he simply showed his badge and said, "I'm taking control of prisoner Slade." The guard saw, nodded, and walked back to his office, closing and locking the door.

Oliver pressed a button to the side, revealing a panel with a bag inside. He took it out, dropping it on the floor and pressing the button again to close the panel.

He spoke softly, "I need your help."

Slade greeted, turning and starting to smile, "Hey kid. I'm glad you came back."

His old friend stood up. "What brought you back to the island?"

"Like I said," started Oliver, going to unlock the cell door, "I need your help."

He unlocked and opened it, stepping back. Slade stepped through, before turning, closing it, and turning back before asking, "Would you like to explain what's going on?"

Oliver kept himself in control of the conversation. "I'd like to talk about you for a moment. You seem..."

"What, in possession of all my marbles?" Slade chuckled, and he nodded. "The Mirakuru wore off a long time ago, kid. And I remember everything that happened. I'm not trying to escape that…yet it feels like some… bad dream. Now, regardless of my sanity, why do you want to help me live outside this cell? After everything I've done?"

He heard Thea step forward, but stop in thought. Perhaps her own experience with the Vortura would help her empathize with Slade's experience with the Mirakuru. Not turning to look, he now explained to Slade, "There is a man, Ra's al Ghul, who leads a dangerous and deadly terrorist group known as the League of Assassins. I dueled with him in a... _ritual combat_, but he managed to defeat me. It is only thanks to my friends that I am still alive today. He will find out my continued existence, and he will come for me, and failing that, my city, my friends, and my family. I need as many people as possible to help. Slade… are you going to help me or not?"

Slade spoke regretfully, "I think I'm stating the obvious when I say I killed your mother and your friend. For that alone, you should have killed me."

Oliver offered him an olive branch of peace. "Maybe what's happening now is why I didn't."

Slade inquired, "What about her?"

Thea spoke up, "As much as I hate what you did… I went through something of my own, that I didn't even know about. I was drugged, and nearly killed someone I didn't even know. Someone truly important to someone I do know, a friend. And that's almost what happened to you, but you had to live with it, with its memory. I don't trust you… but I do trust Ollie."

Slade nodded thankfully. Oliver walked back, crouched, grabbed Slade's old mask, before walking back and offering it wordlessly. Slade stepped back, almost in fear, before taking it reluctantly, and reminiscing, "You and me, kid. Like old times **[8]**." After a brief pause, his brother asked grimly, "So... Ra's al Ghul? I've heard of him."

* * *

_Late February, 2015_

_Foundry_

He walked in, and heard Oliver talking, "...not much else right now, besides the average street crime or person on the List. Okay, Barry."

As the call finished, Malcolm asked, "So, who's your friend, Barry?"

His godson answered, hiding something, "Barry Allen, a CSI from Central City, California **[9]**. He helped us with the Mirakuru soldiers."

He shot blindly, acting casual, "So how is the Flash doing, exactly?"

Oliver looked like he just had a severe case of whiplash. "How did you figure out he was the Flash?"

Malcolm smiled cruelly. "I didn't, until now."

Oliver frowned, but connected the dots. "You guessed that he likely had a link with the Flash since I was willing to talk to him about the List and I have worked with the Flash. Then you asked, trying to draw something out of me, and succeeded."

He smirked. "You're getting better at this game of ours, Oliver. But not good enough for me."

Oliver ignored him without any reaction, returning to the computer and researching Ra's al Ghul, before eventually responding with a quiet murmur, "Not yet."

* * *

_Early March _**[10]**_, 2015_

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

Hell. That's all Waller could think about the new situation arising in between Star City, Oliver, Maseo, Nanda Parbat, and everything else.

She had been focusing too much on maintaining the Suicide Squad and several operations by H.I.V.E. and the Ninth Circle to deal with the League situation personally **[11]**. She had stopped getting her personal reports from Maseo long ago when Ra's had sensed her conditioning upon him and used a more skilled brainwashing of his own to break it. As a result, the dots had failed to be connected by her agents, and now something big was starting, something she may not be able to stop entirely.

She'd have to recruit the clearance level three agents she trusted most not to go too far beyond her orders, John Diggle and Lyla Michaels. They had just remarried, but her attention had been averted for too long, and she had to take control manually of this situation. Ra's had been willing in the past to destroy cities he thought needed destruction in order to have his goals carried out, such as when Gotham City had burned **[12]**.

* * *

_Middle March, 2015_

_League Main Base In Nanda Parbat_

He awoke with a start, almost hyperventilating, before slowing down as he calmed and started breathing deeply. He had been in his lair, alone, when suddenly the lights flicked and Ra's appeared, saying, "The time for us to meet again has come, my son," before the lights flickered again and Ra's was suddenly behind him and injecting a tranquilizer into his neck. In retrospect, it had been foolish to think he could avoid being captured by Ra's altogether, but he had managed to get the team prepared enough that they could take care of themselves, hopefully even against the League.

As Oliver looked around, he realized he was in Nanda Parbat, restrained with chains and being forcefully held by two of Ra's' horsemen, regretfully neither being Maseo **[13]**. He was on his knees with Ra's in front of him, but the Demon's Head nodded to the two horsemen and they released him, making him more comfortable but still entirely unable to escape.

He struggled, but the chains still refused to yield even a bit. Ra's began, "I told you before that death comes for us all. This is true even for me. My inevitable death, however, is not simply a physical one, but a temporal one, unless I accept the physical one. As the future advances faster and faster as always since the dawn of man, since the dawn of the universe, the League starts to need a leader who is more familiar with the times. The League is the crucial, vital part of a much greater organization, the Demon** [14]**, that has existed in many forms since not long after truly intelligent man begun, and has had many, many leaders. I had a predecessor, nearly two thousand years ago, and he would not cope with today's fast paced change. That I myself have been able to is thanks to my own abilities even before joining the League. In an isolated village, I first discovered much of the basis of modern medicine, but had to become a Kurdish Saracen warrior. I was killed in battle, for my selfishly hidden discoveries to never be known by others. However, my predecessor found my body, bringing me back to life using the pit. I am now what you see today. But in this age, things are evolving at an unprecedented rate, new concepts evolving, and new threats rising that endanger more people, more often, and more relentlessly. My time as the League's leader is coming to an end. I have known this for a while, but have failed to find someone who is also truly worthy of being an heir… until now."

Oliver had expected to be killed, but was instead bewildered. "What do you mean?"

The Demon's Head stated simply, "You, my son. You have shown tremendous strength, fortitude, power. That is an offer for you, but it requires the price of first giving me Merlyn. You have two weeks to make your choice, whether you wish to invoke my wrath, or become the new Demon's Head, wielding the Demon as a weapon against evil."

* * *

_Late March, 2015_

_Foundry_

"Hello, Oliver," she asked.

Her future weapon within the League whirled around, before answering back respectfully, "Amanda. It's been a while."

She toyed with him, "I was preoccupied with other operations. Agent Michaels and Operative Diggle have managed to help me long enough with one such task that I could come visit."

Oliver had improved however, possibly under Merlyn's oversight, because he saw what she was doing. "You want something. _What_?"

Amanda smirked, and looked into his left eye. "For you to do something for me. Hear and obey me, Director Waller."

There was work to be done.

* * *

**A/N:**

And that concludes the sixth chapter. I hope it was interesting. I finally got to the first place I really started this story around getting to. The next chapter will be called, 'Leader'. We'll see some more of Nyssa and Sara there, who didn't fit in the plot vignettes of this chapter. Again, please review, let me know if I should continue. In the future, I might rewrite this as a full series, but it'll be redundant for those who know the show.

**[1]** As Ra's is honorable, he does not use the abilities of the Demon's Ring (Head in the Gotham TV series, but Ring here) in this duel, such as increased strength, regeneration, use of the Assassins/Shadows, teleportation/stealth, or invincibility (being able to take the blow of any weapon except one with the necessary enchantment/curse or one wielded by a true heir). He also now calls Oliver 'my son' rather than 'boy' as a gesture of respect. At least, until he gains any League title.

**[2]** Maybe this seems implausible, but I think it could be possible if you have those near-inhuman reflexes, and it is way better than catching a sword with your hand. Swords can decapitate people, let alone cut off a hand. I also kind of strangely like the sweeping motion I described.

**[3]** I'm expanding the League lore, and he is able to give them commands over a distance with the Ring. It's not mind control or telepathy quite yet, just a sense of what he wants them to do.

**[4]** Ra's named Nyssa (literally, since she's his daughter), Malcolm named Oliver Green Arrow, Ra's named Sara Canary, and Malcolm now names Diggle Spartan. A sarcastic name originally given by Merlyn works well enough to explain the slightly silly name, and we get to skip the awful helmet by making the final helmet A.R.G.U.S. issue specialized protective gear that Diggle is now using already.

**[5]** It looks like a nice, cinematic moment… but what they did in the show was awfully stupid. It's a miracle that Brickwell's army didn't easily mow down, using, you know, automatic weapons, the untrained citizens that the vigilantes should be protecting, not recruiting. In a single shot, I count about 21 people working for Brick, but there's probably just as many off-screen, or more, making perhaps 60. Dividing that by the four of them, that's fifteen goons apiece, on average. That's good odds by vigilante standards, right? And in here, Laurel has actually also been receiving training from Malcolm, as he didn't have Sara killed or attacked in this, meaning she wouldn't have that much ire toward him. So many other stupid things happened in this fight, just like much of S3 and S4, such as when Brick gloats, takes an arrow, doesn't take half a second to just shoot Wildcat (not present now because he's retired), and shoots randomly above Black Canary or someone. Or maybe he was shooting at a passing actual black canary, and really did hit it, giving someone in the Glades a tiny meal. We'll never know, it was a rather dark fight area at night.

**[6]** This is from Malcolm's perspective. He's still a little… rough. He's not getting quite totally redeemed, or 'if' he does… he won't stay that way thanks to circumstance (hint).

**[7]** Brick is kind of a minor villain here, so a little cowardice is to be expected when he's facing four very capable vigilantes with only an army of mere goons. Is he going to stay outside where they can easily eventually tag him with a tranquilizer, or is he going to run for cover while making his army 'sacrifice' themselves?

**[8]** Not that long ago, Stand With Ward And Queen released a story called "Like Old Times" that starts with Slade actually being sane in The Return, just like in here. Please, go check it out, it's amazing. This moment is kind of inspired by that, but I have plans to maybe give Slade his own team in Jump City (Titans reference) which will let me remove a few members of Team Arrow as the Foundry (somehow still around in this) is a bit too crowded and it's hard for me to have to handle EVERYONE. I could definitely make a spin-off with its own plot lines from this, if anyone really wants it, eventually.

**[9]** This is another spin-off that might be interesting. I'm confirming it now, the Flash does exist in this story's universe, though I'll keep him out of the plot mostly. In the battle against someone normal like Prometheus or Dante, he'd be too overpowered, so I'm nerfing that by making Central City be in California (alliteration by the way) and Star City be in Washington. Then, he could only show up many hours late, being so far away and having to restock on food, water, and stamina every so often, unless something was scheduled. Even if there are no breaks, he'd maybe be able to show up in half an hour if he went at somewhere around Mach 8 CONSTANTLY. At those speeds, what he could do would be a little over the top.

**[10]** I'm rearranging much of 'Suicidal Tendencies' to be before 'Nanda Parbat', because the timing is more convenient that way.

**[11]** Maybe this seems like a cop-out, but in the actual show she somehow did nothing about it. Maybe they felt she was too busy, and if that's so, then the only reason why she knows in this scenario is that Oliver is a personal project of her own. And she doesn't use the reprogramming treatment on the Suicide Squad because it would be too contradictory to their personality, and utterly break their minds. For that same reason, it wouldn't work on, say, the Joker, and may or may not work on someone like Batman. I'm not sure, as he has a really strong will and a really strong conviction not to kill, but he has a really strong desire to carry out justice, so the deception of the treatment could either put a veil over his eyes… or gouge into the brain through them.

**[12]** This is a nice reference to the show Gotham (which yes, is set in the future [late 21st century or early 22nd], but I'm already changing some other things, so a slightly AU version of Gotham [that I can ALSO turn into a spin-off series with flashbacks to it, so _please_ tell me your thoughts on all of these] changed to be in the far past is NOT a problem), but we won't see Bruce until the epilogue/final chapter because of his three year plus hiatus in the Arrowverse that I won't be changing here.

**[13]** Yeah, Maseo is not there, Ra's is smarter than that. I didn't clarify this earlier, but the group of four horsemen he is working with consist of Malcolm, Nyssa, Maseo, and Sara by my changes. Sara is nearly as skilled as Malcolm or Oliver themselves, and so seemed like a good candidate to be labeled as a horseman. I must comment that Ra's' sword from the original scene did look epic. More worldbuilding on the League is imminent, for the next chapter that will also be the final one dealing with the League arc.

**[14]** This is based on stuff from the comics. The Demon is an organization Ra's, who is literally the Demon's Head, leads that includes the League, but also has a lot more from what I found. I also borrow what I've heard things and clips of from the comics on Ra's' origin, such as the part on medicine that creates a fondness for biological weapons, and also combining the Gotham and Arrow origins. Again, more worldbuilding in the next chapter.


	7. Leader

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own DC Comics. I do not own The CW. I do not own anything related to DC Comics in general, or Arrow specifically. Except maybe a few DVDs of old DC movies that I haven't given away yet.

**Failsafe**

**Chapter Seven**

**Leader**

By The Shroud

**A/N:**

The seventh chapter. Please review on whatever you can, suggestions, ideas, etc. Here's the next chapter, which explores the effects of Amanda's command that will also be revealed here. Oliver begins his ascension to being Ra's al Ghul, the Head of the Demon. The story continues below.

* * *

_Late March, 2015_

_Foundry_

"Hear and obey me, Director Waller." She continued, "I have heard of Ra's' offer. No matter what you were thinking of before, you will _accept_ Ra's' offer in exchange for giving him Merlyn. You will also forget that I was even here. Failsafe command sequence complete."

He obeyed.

* * *

_Earlier That Day_

Sara looked over Oliver's shoulder to see plans on traps… for Malcolm? He and Malcolm had been verbally sparring on Merlyn's own insistence, supposedly for training to try and be able to get inside Ra's' head. This seemed similar, but possibly… he might be considering accepting Ra's' offer. He had also been more ruthless, though that had been for longer, since literally coming from the dead.

She asked him, "Ollie, what's going on?"

Oliver slowly turned off the computer screen, pausing, before answering, "Ra's' offer. I think that, between all Malcolm's done, all I can do as Ra's al Ghul, and the little Malcolm has done to prove himself, the little I can do as the Arrow… maybe I should accept."

Sara disagreed. "You know that Ra's al Ghul will likely keep on taking what he can once you've given something, and take everything that you have until there is nothing left. The moment you accept this offer, could be the moment you sign your own death certificate, and that of the city."

Ollie did not relent, "Maybe… but he might in response just as likely burn the city down and kill me if I refuse. I don't feel like there's a choice that would be any better."

She shrugged. "Maybe there's a loophole."

In response, he paused, straightened his back, and spoke thoughtfully, "Maybe we can give him something else instead. Think about it; Ra's wants Malcolm because he failed in cleansing the city and in doing it without public knowledge of interference, thereby violating the terms of his release. What if we can make a counteroffer, to try and get him to settle for less? Such as getting back the cooperation of not only Malcolm but also Nyssa and you, with the condition he does not kill you or Merlyn? If you agree, and we can get them to agree, so might Ra's. I know none of you want to go back there, but I don't want to put my family and friends at stake if I don't have to **[1]**"

She spoke, "Ollie, no matter what, I have your back. Of course."

He faintly smiled, the first real sign of joy she had seen from him since Ra's' offer. "Thanks."

* * *

_Early April, Barely The Next Day, 2015_

_League Main Base In Nanda Parbat_

Oliver stepped into the room, carrying Malcolm unconscious and in chains, where there were two chains suspended from the ceiling, a group of assassins were on each side, and Ra's al Ghul was in front of him, and asked, "Have you decided to accept my offer?"

He lowered Malcolm carefully, and answered, "Yes. Completely."

Two assassins picked up Malcolm, and led him to another room, to be dealt with by their leader later. Then, the Demon's Head spoke, "You know of our customs, as the Magician and the Canary have no doubt told you."

Nodding, he stepped up, taking off his shirt and grasping the chains. He saw the branding iron being heated as Ra's continued. "Everyone in the League of Assassins, which acts as a group of enforcers within and for the Demon, renounces their past life, and forfeits their past life in the name of something new. It is a cleansing… only achieved by fire."

Once the branding iron turned red hot, Ra's lifted it and pressed it painfully into his back, the League symbol being burnt into his skin as he grimaced, while Ra's spoke, "Embrace the pain, for it is your soul finally being… unburdened."

After a moment, as the pain subsided, he finally let go of the chains and walked forward a step. Ra's moved around, leading him to a ceremonial armory. "Oliver Queen is dead, and has been dead since he went to the island. Now, the Star City vigilante is also dead, to be reborn as Ra's al Ghul. Before that ascension, you are Warith al Ghul, Heir to the Demon, with the League title of The Arrow, Al Sah-him."

O- _Al Sah-him_ looked around, picking a compound bow, a quiver of custom League arrows similar to those of Merlyn, a long scimitar, a suit and outfit prepared for him as the heir, and a group of throwing knives, putting them aside on a table with wheels. He turned to Ra's to receive an already prepared vial, made of bone, in the shape of an arrow, and on a string, that held Lazarus Pit water within, putting it around his neck, and then putting on the mask of Warith al Ghul. The mask looked vaguely skeletal and was made of metal, with kevlar underneath and metal meshes for the eyes, possessing a hinge that corresponded to his jaw, giving him a fearsome appearance **[2]**.

Ra's spoke proudly, "Welcome to the Demon, my heir."

* * *

_Same Time_

_Foundry_

Thea asked, "You called?"

Sara had messaged her, Oliver's team, and Nyssa in a group chat, but not Oliver, strangely.

Sara explained, "When I came here, I found a note from Oliver. It said he had accepted Ra's' offer and gone to deliver Malcolm to him. I think someone is manipulating him."

Nyssa, who she had successfully made amends with in the recent weeks, inquired, "Isn't it possible he just decided to do so on his own?"

Sara shook her head. "No, I was talking with him the other day and he definitely didn't want to go through with it, especially without us, and he was also considering a plan to negotiate with Ra's. It doesn't make sense that he would just... drop what he was working on and go through with something he didn't want to do."

She spoke up, "Maybe my father came up with a manipulative plan… _again_?"

Diggle, to her surprise, disagreed. "It feels too obvious for Merlyn's style. Maybe so, but still, it's out of place. I'll see the surveillance footage, see if I can find anything."

Before he could move, Sara explained, "Already did. There wasn't anything at first, but when I ran the programmed algorithms on the footage to check for tampering as we always do, there was a section not long after I talked with Oliver that was looped for a full three hours. Whether anything happened then, for how long, or what, there's no way to know."

Slade suggested, having experience with tracking people down in ASIS, "Then we can follow up on the leads another way. Check each possibility, rule them out. Whatever's up with the kid could be dangerous to all of us."

They all nodded, and started planning how to follow up on his idea.

* * *

_Later That Week, 2015_

_League Main Base In Nanda Parbat_

He spoke to his heir, "Before I can truly train your body and mind, I must first train your spirit. You have shown a previous reluctance on following through on what is necessary. Your allegiance can only be to the Demon and its cause."

Ra's finished mixing together the crushed compound that was a derivative of Vortura with boiling water **[3]**. He handed it to Al Sah-him, and commanded, "Breathe."

Slowly, he spoke soothingly, and started to guide Al Sah-him to see the truth, breaking down his psyche and rearranging it to be stronger. Sturdier. Better.

But there was a barrier in his heir's mind, similar to ones he had encountered before, such as with Sarab. Someone had tried to brainwash his heir, and, apparently, successfully. The block acted almost exactly the same as for Sarab, confirming his suspicions.

* * *

_Later That Day_

He woke up with a start. "What- what happened?"

Suddenly, a flood of memories went through his mind, making him feel sick and confused. Ra's al Ghul explained, "You were brainwashed by your previous employer, Amanda Waller. When I used a derivative of Vortura to enter your mind to heal it of a previous affliction, where you did not truly understand the will to kill, I found a block within it. There was a similar block within the mind of Sarab, but his mind was not as strong as yours, preventing him from being able to receive his memories back. She tried to force you to bend to her will with her own methods, but her arrogance prevented her from truly understanding how the mind works, treating it as a machine rather than the complex organism it really is. This led to complications, contradictions. In light of those, I must know before choosing whether to continue… do you finally possess the will to do what is necessary, having had your experiences since and having had that block cleared?"

Warith al Ghul spoke firmly in the League's dialect of Arabic. "_Yes, my liege_."

* * *

_Same Time_

_Foundry_

Maseo dropped down. He asked Diggle, "My apologies, I was undertaking a mission. Why did you call me here?"

Diggle recounted Sara's suspicions. Maseo stayed silent in thought, before explaining, "Whenever Ra's believes a member of the League lacks sufficient determination for, loyalty to, or faith in him, he enters their mind using a mystic technique and a derivative of Vortura, and rebuilds it as he sees fit, sometimes minimally to leave the psyche as intact as possible, sometimes to great effect when the psyche is too unbalanced for what he wants. When he did so for me, he found a barrier. He removed it, but was unable to get the memories contained within, for risk of my psyche breaking at the spiritual, to say metaphorically, stress. Possibly someone also did so to Oliver. When the two of us were working together, we were always working for A.R.G.U.S… but there was an occasion where we were captured by the Triad, at separate times."

Diggle shook his head, thinking of another path that made more sense. "No, the Triad aren't capable of that level of fine control. _But Waller is_."

* * *

_Middle April, 2015_

_Al Ea-rin _**[4]**_/The Den, Within Al Ea-sima, The Capital Of Nanda Parbat_

Ra's spoke to him in English for his own convenience as they walked through the unfamiliar capital of Nanda Parbat, _Al Ea-sima_, "Besides training to be a weapon against evil as I have done since your initiation, teaching you up to possessing my capabilities, you must also be a leader of the Demon. For you to be at your best in the future, I believe it will be beneficial for you to understand both the present state of the Demon and the past trials of other heads, such as myself."

Warith al Ghul nodded as they stepped into a small building apparently archaic and but a story tall, with them both in their suits without their outfits for battle. His liege continued, "The Demon consists of two integral parts: the League of Assassins, and the League of Shadows. The League of Assassins act as enforcers, keeping any misfits within the League of Shadows under control, though they are themselves also Shadows in a sense. They consist of mere assassins, who are initiates and low level acolytes, Ravens, who act as intelligence and are more skilled than the assassins while lacking any title anymore, and horsemen, who comprise the Demon's Fang, receive a new name, and are nearly as skilled as myself."

Ra's nodded, and a person to their left touched controls on a panel, leading to the room spinning and swapping with a room on the other side after a minute. Once the room stopped, it moved down about three stories, before stopping again, and opening. He saw a far more modern brightly lit metallic grey room that contrasted with the reddish 'stone' of where he and Ra's stood, and also a door behind them.

The doors opened, but Oliver followed his liege's example and did not step forward yet. The Demon's Head elaborated further, "The League of Shadows itself is a way of containing the various previously _independent_ assassins around the world, and directing them to a better purpose. They receive refuge, advice, comforts, training, and even rest, in return for working for the Demon. Shall we?"

At the cue from Ra's, Oliver stepped forward, the doors closing behind them and a new set of doors opening in front of them **[5]**. Inside of this Den, he saw a huge cubic room, three stories tall, with a variety of services, from training and neutral meetings to food and rooms to rest in. It incorporated the hospitality of a hotel, the disposition of a dojo, and the tranquility of a temple.

At a clap from his liege, everyone inside stood, faced them, and shouted, "Ra's!"

The Demon's Head made a downward motion with his hand, and everyone returned to what they were doing. Then, his liege indicated various figures. "There is Henri Ducard, one of the most capable assassins I have ever seen come from outside of here. Then there is David Cain, a capable but untrustworthy assassin, Jade Nguyen, and Lady Shiva, one of the best fighters to exist. Now… to the right is a recently arrived assassin, barely three years ago. She trained here, and took up the name of her sister… the name _Shado_. If you want, you can talk to any of them, or others you may be interested in."

For a brief moment, Oliver wanted to greet Mei. But time had passed, with unknown events, and this was, no doubt, a test by Ra's, to see how deeply his past affected him. So, not trusting his voice, he simply shook his head.

Ra's nodded diplomatically, before leading him down to a seemingly doorless passageway, until Ra's held his left hand, with the ring, against the far end before pushing with his full, entirely inhuman strength, opening an unseen door there.

Oliver entered, before closing the door behind him by pressing a control panel to the side. In this study, there were a great number of texts in an amazing array of languages, varying by age immensely. Ra's spoke, "Here are ancient texts, preserved over a long period of time. These seven I left on the table, focus on the most crucial things for you to know. The Demon Code, detailing its laws of conduct in full, the Shadow Record, which records all the Shadows in the Demon, a History of the Demon's Actions, Memoirs of the Heads, which includes myself, Prophecies of the Heirs, which details prophecies that have led or are leading the Heads to their heirs, Methodology, which clarifies methods that have been accumulated over the centuries, and a book created to also elaborate on the history of the world, as known by the Demon. Returning to the Prophecies of the Heirs, using the power of the Demon's Ring, one can receive prophecies. The sooner and the simpler the thing being predicted is, the clearer and more understandable the prophecy is. When applied during a lull in a battle, it can provide a clear path to success, but it takes time to receive and truly collect the full prophecy."

Oliver asked, sensing something deeper, "Has that ever lead to failures by the Demon?"

The Demon's Head answered slowly, "In some ways. When there is an heir, they are almost always heralded with four favored horsemen, but it is rare to really _know_ which one is which long before the heir replaces the Head. Though the Head receives a prophecy explaining which is the true heir and which is not, it can still be unclear and very vague, as the prophecies tend to show themselves through emotions and concepts rather than mere symbols or sounds. For instance, my prophecy of you hinted at the heir coming from a place connected to lights or stars, being forged by fire, at a traitorous horseman, a deceptive horseman, a familial horseman, and a horseman with a deep connection, combining a traumatic past. I myself was accompanied by only three horsemen, a rare case. One was my father, who died around over a decade ago, known as Sensei, another was a European who had travelled far and knew how to control people's emotions, known as the Tamer, and the third was my brother, who was impulsive and believed himself better than any other Shadow below Ra's, leading to the name of First, or Al Owal."

He was shocked. "Al Owal was your brother? The assassin Sara killed?"

Ra's tilted his head to the side, and answered somewhat spitefully, "No, he may have been my brother, but he was not someone I cared for. He was too set in his ways, jealous of others, and was, to a degree, misogynistic. If there is anything I learned from Lady Shiva, it is that the concept of sexism from my era was rather baseless, making it a foolish opinion that should not belong to any of my horsemen. No, the European who travelled from far away ended up being more of a brother to me. But he believed himself more worthy of my current power, and was able to twist circumstance to make it seem that the prophecy referred to him instead of myself. He was declared the heir, but I managed to convince my predecessor of his trickery. I was allowed to privately execute him for his treachery, but I let him go in memory of our previous brotherly bond. He has vexed me ever since. He combined his League name and the title he wanted to make his new alias. He wanted to be the Head of the Demon, the Leader of the Shadows, a would-be Tamer of the Dark. Damien is a derivative of Damian, a name that means 'tamer', and Darhk is a last name that is a derivative of Dark. As a result, as 'Damien Darhk', he leads a hive of agents against me **[6]**. To avoid failing in the same way, I need you to keep a tight leash on your own favored horsemen that are described in the prophecy."

Neutrally, Oliver asked, "Who?"

Ra's declared, "The Magician is being reintegrated into the Demon as we speak, and the Phantom is already part of it. Two are missing from our ranks… Sara Lance, Ta-er al-Sahfer or Yellow Bird **[7]**, and my daughter, Nyssa al Ghul."

* * *

_Later That Week_

_Glades_

His former brother-in-arms, who was with Slade, Nyssa, Sara, Laurel, Thea, Roy, and called out, "Oliver? Are you there? You wanted us and Nyssa to come here to talk with you. Oliver?!"

He, Sarab, the reinitiated Magician, and a group of six other horsemen dropped down, with him, Sarab, and Merlyn at the front. Oliver removed his hood and metal mask to reveal his face, then began, "Hand over Nyssa al Ghul and Sara Lance, or else."

Nyssa asked him, "Why should Sara and I go back to Nanda Parbat? To face justice? If so, for what crime? To face vengeance? For what offense?"

He explained evenly, "To serve the Demon again. A time approaches where you are needed."

Sara refused. "We're not going back there."

Oliver asserted, "Once we're done with you, you _will_."

He drew an arrow and shot it at Nyssa, beginning the battle. Meanwhile, Malcolm started firing his own arrows at Thea and Sara, two horsemen started fighting Diggle, Sarab drew his katana to strike at Laurel and Roy, and four horsemen started fighting Slade.

Nyssa deflected the arrow using her sword, and the two that followed it as he approached her. She charged at him, and he stepped to the side while throwing her forward, putting her off-balance. She turned, swinging her blade at his head, which he evaded. Oliver threw down a smoke bomb, before jumping at her through the smoke, slicing his own sword through the air. He disarmed her, pushing her to the ground with his scimitar at her neck, before reversing his hold on the hilt and knocking her out with it.

Sarab had knocked out Roy with a punch, before knocking Laurel down to the ground before knocking her out as well with a punch. Malcolm had managed to knock out Sara, but Thea punched him in the gut before firing an arrow into each of his shoulders. Before she could do anything more, Sarab started occupying her attention by beginning to shoot arrows at her, the first of which hit her in the arm.

Diggle was struggling to fight against the two horsemen, but Slade had already cut through two of his own and managed to shoot through and break the masks of the other two, now moving to help Diggle. In response, he fired an arrow grazing Diggle's left leg, nodding for the other two horsemen to fight Slade.

As Diggle fell down and grasped for a fallen sword from one of the horsemen Slade killed, Oliver stalked forward, before swinging his scimitar at Diggle, who was barely able to block each of his swift blows. He used a technique taught to him by Ra's to jab the blade forward while holding it horizontally and off to an angle to force Diggle to respond with a vertical block so he could use the League armor on his arms to swipe the sword aside to disarm Diggle.

Oliver grasped Diggle, pulling him down before jabbing him in the back with an elbow. As Diggle rolled to the side in pain, he cut into the chest not far above the hip before standing up and kicking Diggle in his side. He put his scimitar to Diggle's neck. To the side, Sarab had defeated Thea, and Slade had just decapitated the sixth horseman. Oliver yelled out, "Slade! Stop, or I will kill him!"

As he expected, Slade, out of care for how he wouldn't have wanted Diggle to die, stopped. Oliver negotiated, "Sarab, Malcolm and I will bring Nyssa and Sara to Nanda Parbat. In return, we will not kill any of you." After a tense moment, Slade forced himself to nod.

* * *

_Late April, 2015_

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

The one who had attempted to brainwash his heir sat in her chair, working and plotting. He used the Ring's powers to make the lights flicker, for theatricality, and then stepped out of the shadows.

She stood up, about to reach for a gun on instinct, before seeing him, stopping, and attempting to speak calmly. "Mr. al Ghul, Minister of Nanda Parbat… and Head of the Demon."

Ra's smiled thinly, before instantly grabbing her throat with his right hand and _squeezing_. "Don't interfere in the business of the Demon, Ms. Waller, and particularly not in that of myself, which includes the actions of my heir. Any further contact with Al Sah-him that he does not initiate will lead to me ripping out your throat with my bare hand, as I have done to your deputy director and some clearance two agents outside the building. I'm sorry if that inconvenience forces you to make some changes in the chain of command, but that will give you something else to do rather than irritate me **[8]**. Consider this your final warning."

He let go, before turning, opening the door, walking through the doorway, and closing the door behind him with a falsely polite nod, before completely disappearing from her vision.

* * *

_Later That Day_

_League Main Base In Nanda Parbat_

They were all in the main room of the base. Ra's was in his seat, Oliver was to the right, Nyssa and Sara were in chains with Maseo guarding them, and he himself was to the left of Ra's. Oh, his _liege_ thought that he had been successfully reintegrated, but he had expected this possibility and found a voodoo priest known as Papa Midnite to create an illusion so that he would not fall victim again to Ra's' brainwashing process that had led him to mistakenly kill his own _son_.

Malcolm did not have to escape it like he had before, by pure accident and luck. And when possible, at the moment of best opportunity… he would cause Ra's' downfall, in turn for how Ra's' caused him to initiate the Undertaking, and lose his son both in how he distanced himself from Tommy, and killed Tommy. Once all of that was complete, he would return to wipe out the failures of Star City… all of them, not just in the Glades.

Until then, _Al Sah-her_ would obey. The Demon's Head was speaking, "...and so instead of their blood being spilt as per ordinarily, I sentence them to act as horsemen for the true heir to the Demon, Al Sah-him. And before his ascension, his final task, after all the previous assignments, to prove his commitment to the Demon in the face of ultimate adversity, despite any prior _attachments_… and cleanse Star City with a virus he knows, from his own past, to use to forge his future."

Ra's didn't want his daughter to die, nor her friend. Of course, no one would. But, what was concerning was the ominous virus he mentioned. His godson realized something. "The Alpha-Omega virus... Sarab gave it to you, I presume?"

Ra's al Ghul nodded. "Yes, which is what he offered in return for his training. Sarab, unbind them. My daughter, Ta-er al-Sahfer, do you accept your sentence."

Barely, imperceptibly, he saw his godson wink, surprisingly, just out of Ra's vision. Sara similarly nodded to Nyssa, and they said in unison, "Yes."

Ra's smiled. "We leave in May. Before then… perhaps a few more assignments will help make certain of your loyalties for the upcoming task."

* * *

_Back In Early April, 2015_

_A.R.G.U.S. Base_

"What is it, Operative Diggle?" she asked. He had just barged into her office.

Her new deputy director's husband replied heatedly, "You brainwashed Oliver and Maseo, used them as pawns in your selfish game."

Director Waller shrugged in disinterest. She didn't care that he knew, even if it was a minor inconvenience. "So?"

Diggle almost growled. "So? 'So' is all you can say? I started working for you in A.R.G.U.S. to make a difference, and to support Lyla. You actually don't care."

She spoke nonchalantly, "I care only for national security. Everything else is nonessential."

He was about to say something, but instead left in disgust. She later received his resignation.

* * *

_A Few Days Before May_

_League Main Base In Nanda Parbat_

Slowly, they crept up to the base within which Ra's resided. To prevent what happened to his son in his own home from happening to anyone else in Star City, he had informed those in Star City of Ra's plan, and in turn they had planned an attack upon Ra's, to kill him before his attack even happened.

Maseo, Slade, and Tatsu moved swiftly, cutting down all the guards that seeked to stop them. Roy, Laurel, and Diggle lagged behind, avoiding killing any of the assassins. Another guard… and another death. They had been fortuitous in avoiding any alarms.

Eventually, they made their way to just outside the throne room, and at a nod from Diggle, they all burst in… to see no one there. Ra's' voice bounced around the room, "Did you think you could ambush me in my very own home? The Magician's arrogance must have rubbed off on you..."

An inhumanly powerful punch from behind sent Maseo almost flying across the room. Ra's had materialized behind him, now dodging blows from Slade, Tatsu, and Laurel while systematically using his sword to cut their ligaments and make them collapse. Diggle and Roy moved to help, but Oliver dropped down from the ceiling and started fighting them.

Maseo slowly, painfully got up, and ran over in time to block Ra's' sword from killing Tatsu with his katana, only for Ra's to dissipate before reappearing behind him to strike Maseo down to the ground and knock out Tatsu by slamming her head against the wall. Slade struck at him with his own sword, but Ra's blocked it with his hand while also knocking Slade out with the hilt of his sword, letting go of Slade's blade for the Ring's powers to heal him.

Ra's turned around, and saw Oliver had knocked out Roy and pinned Diggle to the floor. The Demon's Head spoke, "I must thank you Sarab, for saving me the inconvenience of tracking them down myself. For that, I will give you an honorable death, despite your continued treachery to me."

Maseo stood up slowly, and Ra's shoved the sword in between his ribs. Oliver almost stepped forward, but held back. As he took his last breath, Maseo spoke, "Thank you from releasing me from my prison… the League," and fell limp, eyes empty.

* * *

_Early May_

_A Bridge in Star City_

Malcolm reported over their comms, "My liege, the bomb is almost ready for your heir to use."

Only Ra's, he, and Malcolm were on the bridge. Ra's nodded, and turned to ask him, "Are you ready to fulfil your destiny? In the new airborne state we have created, the virus will kill approximately three quarters of the population of Star City, according to estimates. Finally, the city will be cleansed, as it was supposed to, two years ago."

In disbelief, he asked, "Three quarters? That's hundreds of thousands of people."

Ra's stared into his eyes, stating firmly, "If it were hundreds of millions, I'd do it in an instant, for what is necessary for success must be done. You knew the plan required the virus. Why the doubt?"

Oliver hissed back, "The plan required the virus to eliminate those who needed to die, who selfishly cause the deaths of others, not to eliminate those who are merely victims of circumstance, who have strived to live here peacefully."

Ra's gestured to the city around them. "Circumstance, if it favored them, if it gave them power, would cause them to be just as corrupt as those already in power. Are they truly any better just for not being able to do so?"

He argued, "There are people who are good here."

Ra's responded calmly, "And the lives of some tame sheep are less important than killing the lions who would kill them just as viciously for their own purposes. You disappoint me, Al Sah-him."

Oliver answered, "Killing both the sheep and the lions doesn't solve anything. It just turns us into the new monster to be fought." He quickly brought up his bow, drawing an arrow.

Ra's dissipated into smoke, and, realizing what was happening, he turned around in time to see Ra's reappear and start to put a sword to his neck, which he blocked with his bow and threw his arrow with his bare hand.

Ra's blocked the arrow with his sword, allowing Oliver to swap the bow to his other hand and draw his sword- which Ra's kicked to the side, swiping the bow away with his sword before placing the blade to Oliver's neck, having used the strength that came with his magic to quickly win the battle. He ripped off and tossed aside Oliver's mask, and spoke angrily, "Now, you will die to watch your city fall. Al Sah-her, activate the bomb-"

Three arrows cut through the air, piercing Ra's' heart and causing him to stagger. Oliver pushed him to the side, before turning to see Malcolm, who spoke, "I managed to escape the reintegration process. I believe you're looking for the words 'thank' and 'you', but those can wait for when you're ready."

Slowly, like a zombie, Ra's rose, ripping the arrows out through his heart, and whispered mockingly, "Only the Demon's heir can kill the head, and Al Sah-him is not worthy of being the heir. Go ahead, try** [9]**."

Oliver picked up his scimitar, and thrust it into Ra's' chest… and the Demon's Head fell to the ground, and _bled_. Ra's almost chuckled. "Well… you are worthy."

He commanded, "Give me the Demon's Ring Ra's, and I can kill you. Like you really want, as much as anything else."

Ra's ordered, "Swear first that you will not let your mercy get in the way of justice. Swear to me!"

After a second of hesitation, Oliver nodded, and they clasped their left hands together. The Ring turned into smoke that flew to Oliver's hand before coalescing again as the Ring. Ra's slowly started turning to dust, his immortality gone, and spoke hoarsely for the last time, "Thank you for ending my curse, Oliver."

* * *

_Middle May_

_Foundry_

He had used the Ring to give the command to free his team, and tell them to come here, to the Foundry. Now, they had just arrived. Oliver was silent for a moment, then explained, "Ra's is dead. I am now the Demon's Head, with the help of Malcolm. For that, instead of killing him, he will work in my place to control the Demon. Because I don't trust him, I want Nyssa to monitor him. Monitor, and tell me if anything is up, but not control, because I don't trust her either. Is that an acceptable offer, Nyssa, Malcolm?"

They both nodded, before leaving to go to Nanda Parbat. Oliver continued privately to his friends, "I can't control it myself, because I'm still recovering from when Ra's started to dig around in my head, and I don't want to turn into the new Ra's."

Slade replied, "Kid, I think we speak for all of us when I say that we've also had experience with doing things we didn't truly want to."

Oliver nodded. "Thank you, Slade. If you want, you could stay with us, help against the worse elements in this city."

Slade shook his head. "Actually, I'm thinking of going to Jump City. To take a rest, see the scenery, become myself, truly myself, again."

Tatsu agreed. "I also wish to do the same. Perhaps something more than a life of isolation that I led after Akio died. For Maseo's memory."

Oliver understood. "Goodbye, my friends. Maybe we'll see each other from time to time."

With a wave, Slade and Tatsu walked out. Thea gave Roy a small look, and Roy walked up to him, with Thea right at his heels, holding his hand. After a moment, Roy bit the bullet. "Oliver, while you were in the League, Thea and I… we got engaged."

Oliver pulled him and Thea in for a hug. "That's great news. I wish you both the best of luck."

They nodded. He turned to Diggle and Sara, "For what it's worth, I hope all of you can forgive me for how I let Ra's capture you."

Diggle now spoke up, reassuringly, "Oliver, no matter what… we have your back."

Sara nodded to this, and looked at him.

He smiled.

* * *

**A/N:**

And that concludes the seventh chapter. I hope it was interesting. The next chapter will be called, 'Spectres'. Again, please review, let me know if I should continue.

**[1]** This is important; it's the first nearly certain clue to anyone that Oliver's being manipulated, which is what leads to their discovery of it.

**[2]** The mask makes Oliver look similar to how Ra's al Ghul did after his resurrection in Gotham but before he received the Head back. I thought it looked cool, and wanted to incorporate it in this chapter. It might also be somewhat bullet-resistant, if the bullet isn't from a sniper or close-range, thanks to being made of kevlar and metal. Extra protection for the heir is always good. The suit underneath the outfit is the same as the one he wore during the League wedding to Nyssa, with the sash (but is instead worn as a baldric for his long scimitar, and put over his outfit when battling), and the wedding doesn't happen here because it felt contrived, made just for relationship melodramatic purposes. The outfit is similar to the League one, but with some accents that make it also similar to Ra's' outfit here, which is the same one he wore in season 4 after his resurrection.

**[3]** This is inspired by the scene in Batman Begins, I admit.

**[4]** Pardon my Arabic, I'm using Google Translate and approximations to try to make it match the show's 'dialect'. The 'ea' part in both is pronounced more similarly to the 'ah' sound. This part of the Demon is inspired by the John Wick franchise.

**[5]** I wanted the League of Shadows to act a lot less archaic. They're willing to use technology, as are the League of Assassins, but the Assassins part of the Demon tends to avoid doing so when possible, just out of preference. I also would normally have the structure evolve and be shown over the course of the season, but as a vignette, this approach of Ra's explaining it works better.

**[6]** The name was never explained, so this is a head canon I have. Source was that I looked up that Damien means 'tamer', and Darhk is a derivative of Dark obviously, and Tamer of the Dark has a similar meaning to Leader of the Shadows, and Ra's leads the Shadows. Therefore, Darhk was a European that travelled to Nanda Parbat, was skilled in manipulating what people wanted and became the Tamer. Him having been temporarily declared the heir means that there's some extra hate in between them, leading to the centuries-long vendettas and wars.

**[7]** Ta-er al-Sahfer means Yellow Bird. Perhaps there was already a League member by the name of The Canary or Al Kinariu (Canary, though, instead of 'The Canary', is Knari in Google Translate).

**[8]** Ra's considers Waller an annoyance, much of a threat as she can be. Similarly, Damien Darhk merely 'vexes' him. When someone lives for nearly 2000 years, the affairs of mere mortals begin to seem like trivia. This is also to give an advantage to his heir through Diggle by causing Waller to promote Lyla, someone she truly trusted already but had other people in the way. Ra's is five steps ahead.

**[9]** This is not arrogance. If Oliver is not the heir, he can't kill Ra's, not without a special enchantment. If Oliver is the heir, that's great, he's worthy, Ra's finally gets to die.


	8. Author Note on Schedule

**Only Some Author's Notes, I'm Afraid**

By The Shroud

* * *

I just finished the intensive three long chapter League arc in 'Failsafe', and that feels like the best place to make a pause, besides possibly the tenth chapter. It was tiring, and it started to feel like it was tiring out too, in that last chapter. I think I need a less intensive schedule, but also a faster paced one.

During this pause, I won't stop writing, posting, or even continuing with the longer chapters. Instead, I plan to return to a shorter, 500 - 2000 word chapter format in other works with the chapters being posted somewhere between every day and every week, while continuing to slowly work on the more intensive chapters and posting them infrequently like those now in the latter parts of 'Failsafe' or 'The-Boy-Who-Didn't'. I may also switch both of those to such a format, performing a rewrite. Maybe.

For the other works I mentioned above that will have shorter, more frequent chapters, those include previous stories such as 'Decision' (previously titled 'What?') and the 'Batwoman Rewrite', and new ones like 'The Following Effects' (part of a universe that will be called the _Follows_ universe), 'Following Through' (an independent one-shot series that fixes or alters canon events, though I may also include omakes for my own stories), 'Schemes, Ploys, Lies, Crisis' (part of the same universe as 'Decision', and I will mention the first season I will release is titled 'Barty, Barry, Remnant, Lies'), and 'Some New Exploits of the Merc With A Mouth', which have full descriptions one can find in my profile.

Therefore, I am putting this plan into effect, and will delete this AN chapter for each respective work once I post again on the works, one by one. For all of you, each and every one of you,** thank you for your time, and I hope to see you again soon in the future.**


	9. A WARNING AN

**Some All Too Pertinent Author's Notes**

By The Shroud

* * *

It's been amazing writing this story, but I also think it desperately needs a rewrite, so I intend to delete it sometime soon, in the future. For the next one or three weeks though, it will remain online. Afterwards, I will begin working on a rewrite, and then hopefully start publishing it soon thereafter. I'm sorry, but I just can't feel satisfied leaving this story as it is, and I hope that when I do release the rewrite, it can demonstrate an improvement in readability. I will continue writing as I have planned (though there may be a minor decrease in what I can output as I am in an intensive stage of moving to another city, throwing out stuff, sorting, packaging, etc.), and if you have any suggestions for when (not if! [hopefully; I could technically die to a meteor falling on my head or World War III I suppose, much as I hope otherwise]) I do the rewrite, **please let me know, and I'll try my best to see what I can do with any changes to any part of the timeline or any possible thing I could add, even if just the smallest part or even if it would radically change everything. It's always amazing to get any feedback, and I'd love to hear any ideas that I may have looked over or have let fly over my head.**


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